Wakfu Wars Trilogy
by m.tarnina
Summary: It's a good exercise, star-warsificating stuff, honest! Ekhm. Wakfu Wars! The story of a boy, a girl and an archipelago. A saga of rebellion and romance. An epic of heroes and villains, and complete nonsense. Rated for darth Yugo, mostly. Cause he's baad.
1. It is a period of civil war

_It is a period of civil war. The Rebel fleet has for the first time prevailed over Imperial forces in combat. During the battle, rebel spies managed to steal plans of a weapon meant to secure control over the entire archipelago to the empress, lady Echo: a portal to Shukrute, an inexhaustible source of destructive shushu. A young partisan of the Rebellion, Flopin, has been entrusted with carrying the plans to the allied Sadida..._

A cool breeze ruffled young cra's fair hair. Absently, he brushed it aside, eyes fixed on a dark shape on the horizon.

"How much time left?" asked the captain behind his back. The young man rested his elbows heavily on the railing.

"Unless you can control the wind, captain Antilles," he muttered, "we'll be caught up with by the Imperial craft within an hour."

In the shade of the ship, the water resembled crumpled dark silk.

"Ah hour?" an ecaflip sailor, who stood on the rigging, looked puzzled. "I can barely see it."

"Stasis engines." Cra eyes could easily distinguish the growing shape of the ship.

A seagull cried overhead. The captain joined him by the railing, in the corner of his eye Flopin saw white hair, fluffy like a dandelion.

After a moment's silence, Antilles ordered "Reef the sails! Get ready for enemy boarding. Don't make it too easy."

There was a patter of ecaflip feet. The young cra pushed himself back from the railing and stood there for a moment, seizing the Imperial man-of-war.

* * *

Heavy boots drummed on the deck overhead. Flopin quickly sealed his package. He whistled. In the ray of light from the porthole glimmered a yellow ball of fluff.

"You know where to deliver this."

The tofu twittered, the boy nodded and, ignoring the noises on the deck, he opened the window to throw out the little bird, package in his beak. He stared after it, until he couldn't see the yellow spot amongst the blue. Then he closed the porthole.

A door slammed nearby. Flopin picked up his crossbow from the table before retreating into the shadows.

* * *

Blue flare cut the ecaflip's body in half. It slid onto the deck, under feet of captain Antilles, who was studying the face of his man's murderer with a stony calm. Face, or rather a cloud of stasis, locked in a glass bowl. The empress's dog towered over most foggernauts, like a statue of a warrior cast in golden brass. Only the cloak on his shoulders was blowing in the wind.

"For the last time. Where are the plans you stole?"

Like all the technomages, he spoke in a mechanical, even tone, devoid of feeling.

"You have been misinformed, lord" Antilles needed to crane his head to look him in the glistening mist. "It's a passenger ship. We are carrying a diplomatic mission to Sadida."

The billows of stasis glittered, and just by captain's feet a blue-rimmed circle of a portal shone open, revealing a layer of grey clouds.

"Where are the plans?" asked Yugo.

"I have no idea."

The portal shifted by hand's width. Someone from Antilles's crew whimpered.

"If this is a diplomatic mission" said Yugo, addressing no-one in particular, "where is the ambassador?"

* * *

The hulking foggernaut turned, cloak billowing. Flopin bit his lip, when the soldier, who was clutching his arm, stood before the leader, ramrod straight.

Up to now the young cra pictured the Sword of the Empress as just another technomage, a puppet of metal, animated by an imitation soul, but Yugo's armour seemed to really contain a living body. It had muscular arms and legs instead of thin rods, it lacked an in-built stasis cannon, as well, although the purple fog of foggernauts did fill the glass dome on top.

"What happened to the plans you stole?" The mage asked, his voice echoing like from inside of a steel pipe. The young cra straightened proudly.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm on a diplomatic mission to Sadida."

"You are part of the Rebellion and a traitor. Take him away!"

A foggernaut pulled Flopin by the arm, another pushed his back. Marched away, he heard the mechanical bass order "Search the ship!" and he smiled inwardly.

Clouds, smoke-dark, were gathering on the horizon.

* * *

In one leap, Elely jumped over a puddle. There were lots on the path, making it shimmer in the sunlight like a stream winding among the emerald grass. And smell of rain filled the air.

The iop stayed in the village overnight, because she had been helping in the common stables till it got late, and stormy, and nobody would let her just go home. As if she was a kid, really. And they couldn't understand why she moved out on her sixteenth birthday.

The path turned, leading Elely into a grove of trees green like the greenest thing on earth, as if the rain washed dust off them, bringing out the real colours. She picked up a pitch black stick and twirled it expertly before spinning to attack her imaginary opponent, then finished him off with an elegant upwards cut and nodded in compliment to her own prowess. If only there were monsters on Muideat... yeah, she'd have shown them!

Pity that only the shoemaker from the Eastern Harbour could qualify here, and it was a stretch, though Elely still remembered how badly a well-thrown clog bruises. Other than that the island only had wodents and dirty stables. These people needed an eniripsa, not a iop.

Among the trees she saw the roof of her cottage, shiny wet slate shingles.

She hit a branch that hung over the path, knocking off a sparkly rain of droplets, spun, parried and there she was, breath steady, at the door. Thrown into the bushes, the stick produced a pleasant rustle.

And then - an indignant whistle. Huh?

There was another whistle, weak and pathetic, so Elely, smacking her lips, went to see. On the wet ground under the bush, just beside her stick, a small yellow pom-pom sat, feathers almost like spikes, so soaked the poor thing was, a condemning stare fixed at the iop girl. The effect sort of vanished when the tofu sneezed.

"You got lost?" she asked, sitting on her haunches. She reached for the tofu, but the bird exploded with twitters, pressing itself to the ground.

"Hey, knock it off! I really had no idea you were here. What's that, there?"

Because she got a glimpse of something underneath the yellow feathers, like a parchment, but the tofu spread out his wings and hugged this thing with all his weight. He whistled contemptuously.

The iop rolled her eyes. With one hand she picked the struggling tofu up, while the other dug the package out of the soil.

"Neither rain nor snow, huh? Listen" she added over a stream of indignant chirping "if that's for someone on Muideat, I can deliver it, I know everybody here. And you can rest."

The tofu gave her a long whistle, and she laughed.

"The Empire? Wouldn't touch this rock with a really long pole. But suit yourself, little courier."

She put the package in her trouser pocket and got up, the twittering tofu in her arms.

"Come on, I'll give you a warm bath. So you don't catch a cold."

* * *

Elely poured the bowl of soapy water out the window, then refilled it with warm water from the pot and put on the tabletop of raw planks, convenient for her little guest.

"Come on, rinse it out" she said. "What do you eat? Seeds, right? Cause all I got is rye bread. Bit stale." she added, opening the bread box.

The tofu stopped splashing for a moment to trill.

"Good."

Elely perched on a wooden chest by the table. She took the package out and, ignoring the indignant twitters, rolled it back and forth between her palms. There definitely was some hard, smooth, cool thing underneath the paper. Glass?

"What is it?"

The bird shot out of the bath so fast, he somehow got a full beak of water and coughed spasmodically, so Elely had to play lifeguard, using a large handkerchief.

"All right, all right, no reading other people's mail. Don't be mad."

She put the packet on the table. It was sealed with the sigil of Cra.

The tofu tweeted, clicked his beak and sat on the little package, as if it was an egg. Then he whistled, irritated.

"Goultard?" the iop smiled radiantly. "See how lucky you are? He lives just a stone throw from here. I'll be happy to show you. After breakfast." She waggled her finger at him with a giggle. The tofu rolled his eyes.

* * *

Goultard lived right in the middle of the island, in the darkest, most tangled tangle of a forest, difficult to get one's bearing in even when you weren't hungry and distracted. Which was why she had insisted on the breakfast.

"He thinks he's a fairy-tale wizard, or something" Elely explained, clambering over a slightly rotten log. The tofu's claws clenched on her shoulder.

"Oi! Calm down, okay? Wouldn't you be more comfortable if I carried this package in my pocket?"

But the bird only flinched, the package dangling at his beak tapping Elely's cheek.

"Not far now. I've no idea why he's such a recluse, maybe he just hates working fields. Careful."

The bird hugged her shoulder, avoiding by hair's breadth the branch that swept over Elely's face.

"And he says really weird things" she continued. "But he's all right, he's teaching me a bit of sword fighting. Goultard! Goultard, mail!"

Hands on her hips, the iop craned her head to look at the top of the half-ruined tower, picturesquely overgrown with vines. She snorted. In several long strides she got to the wall, pushed away the curtain of creepers and whacked her fist on the wooden door.

"Are you in?"

"No."

Elely rested both her hands on wood.

"Every time he does this" she sighed before turning round.

Her mentor was standing there, on the path, hands folded and an infuriatingly knowing smile on his face. There was a bright green leaf tangled in his red dreadlocks.

"What's new, Ely?"

The girl stroked the little ball of bristly feathers that was perched on her shoulder.

"A messenger, for you."

Goultard's brow shot up.

"I never gave anyone this address. What did you bring, little bird?"

The tofu grew even spikier, sharp claws digging right into Elely's skin. The man simply pushed by her to open the tower door and let the girl and the tofu inside.

"You know I'd be happy to help you fix the roof?" Elely said, stopping at the doorstep. She had to wait for her eyes to get used to the light, which filled Goultard's tower like golden syrup fills a bottle.

"A true iop sleeps under the stars" her mentor called briskly. The tofu brushed his soft wing at Elely's ear.

"I don't know" she said, stroking his head. She pulled a stool from the wall to sit, resting her elbows on the tabletop, grey from years of rains, and Goultard reached out, waiting.

The tofu hugged Elely's shoulder.

The iop laughed out loud.

"Yes, he really is Goultard, trust me" the girl gently put her little companion on the table in front of herself.

"You're right to hesitate" said Goultard, taking the package off him. He gave the seal a long, hard stare before breaking it. "What if I'm an impostor who got rid of the real Goultard? Eh?"

"Are you being funny? I'd have noticed" snorted Elely.

Inside the package there was a vial of sky-blue liquid, and it glistened with colours like mother of pearl when Goultard held it to the light. His brow wrinkled. Meanwhile, Elely reached for the package.

"Hey, there's a letter. Inside. Really tiny writing..."

"Yes, I noticed" Goultard shook the vial, squinting. "Read it, will you?"

Elely smoothed the paper out on the table.

"Master Goultard. For the sake of your old friendship with my parents I beg you now for help in our struggle against the Empire. The vial contains the newest achievement of alchemy, the self-writing ink. In this portion I have enchanted the plans for the portal to Shukrute the Empire has nearly completed now. They must be delivered to our friends in Sadida. This is our last hope. We beg for your help, Goultard. Flopin."

The iop girl looked up at her master, who was staring at the vial, forehead creased. Then he shook himself off and smiled at Elely.

"That village of yours" he said "could they do without you for a couple of months?"

"Yes!" The girl jumped on her feet, upsetting both the stool and the tofu, who, with an indignant screech, hid among Goultard's dreadlocks.

"Yay! Finally adventure!"

She danced around the table while her mentor, head shaking, walked up to the wall, opened a large wooden chest and began rummaging in it. The tofu sneezed.

"We'll get a ship in the Eastern Harbour, at the Red Dragon. It's a smugglers' cave, so-"

Elely snorted. "There's one harbour on this island, and only one inn. I've been there before. I've been all around."

Goultard threw a travelling cloak at her, which she expertly caught and coughed, on account of the dust.

"You may still end up missing the boredom, Ely" he said, still digging through the chest.

"Me? Not in this life, I won't! That's a cool one!"

"D' you like it?" the master unsheathed the short sword to give it a critical look. With a nod, he handed the sword, sheath and belt and all, to Elely.

"For me?"

"Used to be your father's."

Hands trembling with excitement, Elely buckled the belt around her waist.

"To adventure!"

"To adventure" nodded Goultard. The tofu whistled melodiously.


	2. Smugglers' cave, eh?

"Smugglers' cave, eh?" Elely muttered, before clearing her throat of the scratchy smoke. The air was positively thick with soot here.

Behind the counter, cobbled together out of planks taken from an old shipwreck, a bearded man in a not-too-clean apron was very, if pointlessly, busy rubbing the dirt into a tankard with a rag. In the darkness by the walls she could see dim outlines of the tables and pale wisps of the old sea-dogs' hair. Clatter of dice was irritating her sensitive ears. The seamen were talking, but too softly for her to hear any words.

"What else does it look like?" whispered Goultard. He walked inside, navigating deftly among the tables, the floor creaking under his feet.

Elely stroked Az, who was perched on her shoulder, and followed, careful, tense, keeping a few steps behind her master, just in case.

On the counter an osamoda was leaning. She seemed more or less Elely's age, and bored out of her head, although the girl's short hair and tied up shirt remained shiny white, despite the time she must have spent waiting for whatever it was she was waiting for in this charcoal pit of a room. The iop, one eye on Goultard, who was chatting with some smugglers, joined the osamoda, who looked Elely over. Then she smiled at the tofu, tilting her head, so that light could glimmer on the string of beads she wore in her hair.

"So cute" she cooed. Elely chuckled. Osamodas.

"I'm Sparrow" the girl introduced herself.

"Elely. This is Az."

"Az" the osamoda reached into her pocket, and before Elely knew it, the tofu was happily stuffing himself with flax seeds out of Sparrow's hand.

The iop shook her head.

"Little traitor. You'd leave me for a smuggler."

Sparrow laughed merrily.

"Well, you have to admit, he knows where to get treats."

* * *

The lamp was smoking like an old sailor. Ruel bit the end of his pencil, going over the calculations in his head again, which is why the chair being pulled didn't turn his attention.

"Busy" he muttered, but a pair of bandaged hands thumped and pressed his papers down. He had to raise his eyes.

"Mister Adelai is very unhappy" the xelor rasped. In his lenses the lamp flame flickered, refracting on the edge of the shutter inside.

"I'm sorry" Ruel shrugged. He tried to pull the papers out, but the xelor was pressing on them with all his weight, surprisingly heavy for a bag of bones.

"Where's the money, Stroud?"

"I'd love to know, myself. Listen, it's not like I don't wanna pay" the snort xelor gave was marvellously rude, but Ruel went on by sheer inertia "I'm broke, simple as that."

He tucked the pencil behind his ear and leaned back in the chair.

"So tell your boss-"

"Mister Adelai does not give second chances. I am authorised to collect your debt in any way I deem necessary."

"I'm broke, Zeit."

"You have Platinum Kama. You have" the xelor glanced over his shoulder at the bar, where a young osamoda was chatting with a fiery-haired iop girl "other commodities."

"But he has no money" a tall iop with dreadlocks cut in, taking a seat at the table. He rested his back against the wall, folded his arms over his wide chest and said, looking calmly at the bounty hunter "How about a deal? I need a transport to Sadida. Myself, the girl" with a tilt of his head he indicated the ginger gal, currently laughing out loud at the counter "and a tofu. Nothing but discretion necessary."

"How much?" Ruel asked in a neutral tone.

"Enough to pay your debt."

"It's quite a debt" the enutrof glared daggers at the iop, but Zeit said impatiently "It is a waste of your time. A substantial reward has been put on Stroud's head."

Without a look, the iop caught xelor's clock hand over Ruel's head and squeezed. Metal shards scattered on the floor with a tinkle.

"You" Zeit hissed, but he got up right into the warrior's fist and thudded underneath the table before he had the time to cast any spell.

There was a moment of silence.

"Sorry for the mess" the iop tossed a coin at the barman who only left off his rag and his tankard to catch it. Ruel's eyes followed the glint of gold.

"So, we got ourselves a ship?"

"Huh? Prices these days-"

"So, we got ourselves a ship?"

Ruel grunted. The xelor under the table stirred, then froze when nudged by the iop's foot.

"I'll pay when we get to Sadida."

"Sure. Why not. We're leaving first thing in the morning. That softness is gonna be the death of me, Great Dragon..."

* * *

Meanwhile, on board of an imperial ship, around the great carved table in the map room, a group of officers gathered: Yugo, his stasis cloud dark as if heavy with snow, Harebourg, white hair framing his boyish face, general Frida Moffette, her navy blue uniform tight around her chest. There were several junior officers and aides, as well, who daren't speak.

"Any progress?" Harebourg asked.

"The kid won't talk" Moffette pushed a rolled map back and forth on the table.

"He is strong with wakfu" rumbled Yugo, "he hides his thoughts well."

"Why are we interrogating him, anyway?" Moffette shoved at the map so violently it rolled to the floor. "Can't we simply send all Sadida to Shukrute?"

"Economically speaking-" said Harebourg, but Yugo cut in with a curt "No."

The general giggled like a teenage girl. The hulking foggernaut turned to her.

"You're so sentimental!"

A flash of blue light, and the halves of the table sank inwards under their own weight. Moffette slid her boot-shod feet out from underneath them to stand up, with much grace and a barely concealed snigger. The junior officers were staring at the halved piece of furniture.

"Calm down" said Harebourg. "Demonstrations of this sort-"

"Can be useful" Moffette said, thoughtfully.

* * *

It was nice to stand on deck, even if all he could smell was the warmish, thick engine exhaust. Even if there were metal soldiers all around, and if Moffette stood by the railing, leg hooked around a post, staring at Flopin like a bow-meow stares at a really tasty-looking tofu. By her side were Yugo, as always unreadable, and Harebourg, who greeted the young cra with a grandfatherly smile.

The young cra decided to enjoy the sight of the sky and give them no satisfaction at all. A dark smudge of land appeared on the horizon.

"The isle of Muideat ahead" said the sufokian captain, nervously glancing first at Yugo, who stared (?), unmoving, at the island, then on Harebourg. The count gestured with his hand.

The metal hands pushed Flopin forwards, so he had to catch the railing to avoid falling at the officers' feet.

"We are aiming at the greater good, my boy" said Harebourg in a tone he presumably thought fatherly.

"Whose?" Flopin muttered.

"General" answered Harebourg without a flinch. The cra snickered, and was surprised when Moffette followed suit.

"He's got guts! Told you, Jaquemart!"

"Silence!" rumbled Yugo. His metal gloves closed on the handrail with a grating noise.

"Your last chance, kid" said Moffette. "Either you talk, or..."

A streak of glassy blue light shone over Muideat. Flopin groaned. "No..." Instinctively he moved forward, but metal fingers clutched his shoulders.

"No..."

"You want to save them?" Harebourg asked. "Give up the plans. Unless you already sent them to the Rebel headquarters? We'd be grateful to know where you're based."

The cra bit his lip, eyes on the portal, spinning slowly over Muideat.

"Well?"

Flopin tasted blood. The portal plummeted down.

* * *

The deck shook under her feet. Elely landed on the wooden planks, and so did her sword.

"Oi!" she yelled at Ruel behind the steering wheel. "It's hard enough to stay on my feet without your pranks!"

"Not his fault, Ely."

"Goultard? What's wrong?"

The master iop sat heavily on the steps that led up to the bridge. He rubbed his forehead.

"Tired already?" Elely joked, settling down besides on the sun-warmed wooden deck. The master tousled her hair a little.

"Never of you. Something happened. As if hundreds of voices screamed all at once."

Elely tipped her head, but before she had time to say anything, the sails flapped in the wind.

"The wind's changing" said Sparrow, coming up from below the deck, Az perched on her shoulder.

"Help me reef them, will you?"

Goultard stood up, looking at the horizon.

"Imperial men-of-war" he muttered. Elely shielded her eyes from the sun, but it still took a while until she could distinguish the dark spot where blue sky met the blue sea.

"Closest island?" demanded Ruel, and a stuffy, affected voice grumbled "Have you ever heard of the word 'please'?"

"Spill it, or end up in the head."

The shushu gave a long-suffering sigh. If I had to be locked up in a piece of parchment nailed to the mast, I'd be pretty grumpy, too, thought Elely, picking up the ropes Sparrow told her to pick up.

"The nearest island is the Dragon's Rock" the map said in a dignified tone, drawing the appropriate chart on its surface.

"Great, plenty of time to hide there" Sparrow pulled at her rope and the panelled sail folded like a fan.

* * *

Well, the cove on the Dragon's Rock was a good place to hide. Except pretty soon it made you scream out of sheer boredom.

"How many of these ships?" moaned Elely. Sparrow, stretched on deck over the iop-and-gobbals game, glanced up at her before shrugging one shoulder and moving her piece. Goultard placed his with an audible tap.

"Imperial fleet" Ruel muttered from where he sat, in the shade of the bridge. He didn't even open an eye.

"But all of it?"

"Sit down, Ely."

"Don't tell me you're not tempted!"

"I am" admitted Goultard, leaning over to take Sparrow's gobbal. "But we're not here to have fun, remember?"

* * *

The western sky reddened, and two iops with identical looks of frustration on their faces were staring at the imperial ship moored at the cove mouth.

"It's been hours!" hissed Elely.

Goultard was silent, his hands clenched on the railing.

"We're pressed for time" the girl said. "What if they get to Sadida before we do, eh?"

"Two of you against the entire fleet?" Ruel walked up to them and cast a professional eye over the man-of-war. "Iops. We're doomed."

He shook his head, while Sparrow remarked "There are alternatives to fighting."

"There are" Goultard pushed away from the railing and started pacing the deck in even, measured steps.

"Have we got a dinghy?"

The osamoda nodded, but the enutrof folded his arms and stared at Goultard.

"It's getting dark. If you wreck my dinghy-"

"You want to go there in the dark and sabotage them, yeah?"

Elely, an honest iop, would rather have an open fight, but beggars can't be choosers, right?

"I like this plan" Goultard said. Ruel stomped his foot. "It's suicide! Break this heap of junk too badly and we'll never get out of here!"

"You've got a better idea?"

"Yes! Sit down and wait."

Goultard stopped pacing to look up at the sky, which was turning a deep, clear violet.

"I'm putting my foot down" said Ruel.


	3. Wood tapped the metal side of the ship

Wood tapped the metal side of the ship.

"Porthole" hissed Sparrow, so Ruel paddled the boat closer with a soft splash. Behind the round glass there was a pale, purplish light.

"Open it" Elely whispered.

"From the outside?"

"How do we get in, then?"

Ruel chuckled. "Iops. First charge, then think."

"Shut up-" she started, but was interrupted by Goultard "There's a ladder."

He stood up, rocking the dinghy a little. Az, who was perched on the side, chirped.

"You wait. Ruel?"

"You're not paying me for parading under technomage fire."

"Great" Elely waited for Goultard to climb up and followed him, the rungs sounding hollow under her hands and feet.

* * *

Seen from the inside, the sufokian warship turned out to be sort of a disappointment. Elely was expecting brass, lots and lots of gears, mysterious smoke, equal parts purple with stasis and black with soot. Possibly the moaning of slaves who would push all these machines. Whips cracking.

There was brass, all right, banding every single door as well as the wooden walls. From the bands on the walls glass bubbles hung, filled with violet mist. Other than that, the place was empty, clean and quiet. There were heavy boots marching somewhere around, but she had to strain her ears to hear that.

Sparrow glanced out of the corner, then nodded to Goultard, beads in her hair glistening purplish.

"Why are we hiding?" whispered Elely.

"Cause we don't want attention" her master whispered back, joining Sparrow at the bend of the corridor.

"You already tapped a guard on the head" the iop girl muttered. Goultard made a shushing gesture in their general direction. Sparrow pressed herself to the wall, and so did Elely, albeit half-heartedly.

"You're joking?" said a voice around the corner, a bit muffled by the wall.

"Not at all" the other guard's tone was filled with sincere awe. "That cra must be made of stone. They're taking him to the capital."

Two blue-uniformed sufokians passed by the group, hidden in the shadows.

"Ugh" the first guard said. "Can't say I'd wanna be in his shoes."

The pair of iops exchanged glances.

* * *

Sparrow looked over her shoulder before squatting next to Elely, who was busy undoing a lot of brass buttons.

"Shouldn't we lock them up?" she asked hesitatingly. Elely pulled the jacket off the guard and handed it to Goultard, who was standing in the doorway.

"In the storage? Nah."

"Or tie them up, at least? They'll wake up and go-"

"Need to split up" the iop girl rose, the other, smaller jacket slung over her shoulder.

"You're having too much fun" the osamoda accused. Goultard chuckled.

"They were talking about a cra. That's Flopin, right, master?"

"Sure" Goultard buttoned up his uniform and scowled, fingers at the collar.

"You two go find him, I'll take the engine room."

"You don't know what to do there!" Sparrow cried, but he was already out in the corridor. "He doesn't even know where it is, Elely!"

"Go back to the old grumpy guy, if you want to" the iop took a pair of brass handcuffs off a shelf, looked them over and turned the key in the lock. "Come on, you're gonna be my prisoner."

"What?"

"We don't have any more uniforms."

"But I know machines, why does Goultard-"

"Quiet." The cuff snapped closed around her wrist, the brass a nice contrast to the blue skin.

"You're having too much fun" Sparrow reiterated, and Elely grinned, tucking her flame-red hair under the uniform hat.

* * *

"Bwork take it. Can't they put some signs in this place?"

Can't they, thought Sparrow, looking at the iop, who was worrying her lip in a magnificent show of indecision, then at the entrances to three identical corridors. Even the stasis bubbles were hanging in the exact same arrangement. There were footsteps behind their backs and Sparrow nudged her "guard".

Elely stood to perfect attention just in time for the tall Sufokian to see them. He had a row of medals across his chest. Sparrow bit her lip. There was something of a snapper in the officer's face, which made him look a bit surreal, combined with a shock of dark hair.

"Where are you taking this osamoda?" he barked.

"To her cell, sir. She's a dangerous pirate, sir."

Sparrow hoped that the horrible grimace her mouth wrung itself into looked pirate-y and terrifyingly, and not at all as if she was keeping back laughter. The officer raised his eyebrow.

"What are you waiting for? Haven't seen a superior before?"

"Sir."

He waved his hand at the corridor on the left. "Prison block, on the double! And report to me afterwards!"

"Yessir!" Elely pushed Sparrow in the direction given, both marching as fast as they could.

* * *

When the door rang closed behind them, Sparrow finally let that breath out.

"Great Dragon!" she giggled, while Elely hurriedly took off her handcuffs and threw them aside.

"Goultard says he once entered and left the dungeons of the enutrof king, using just a piece of string and a toothpick" she stood on her toes to look through a small window in the door of the nearest cell. She shook her head.

The corridor was dark, just a few stasis bubbles at the ceiling and a tiny violet light over each of the many doors. The round windows gleamed like metal.

The iop and the osamoda walked on, silently checking each door. Sparrow, only half-knowingly, took Elely's hand.

"Here" the iop whispered.

Sparrow looked into the cell. There was a boy their age sitting there, hunched, blonde fringe covering his eyes. The tips of his pointy ears were peeking out from underneath the fair hair.

Elbows resting on knees, the boy was still like a statue.

"How do you know?"

"Cra, yeah?" Elely squatted to tap her finger at the tangle of thin purple pipes under the door knob.

"There may be hundreds-"

"How do we open this?"

Sparrow shook her head. She joined the iop and trailed her fingers over the glass pipes.

"A stasis lock" she muttered. "The clerk said there was a code, remember? You have to turn these rings, and if they spell the right combination, the mechanism lets stasis out and we can open the door."

Elely turned one ring a little back and forth, by the way of experiment.

"One, one, three, eight" Sparrow prompted.

The iop dialled it in, but the purple mist remained in the pipes.

"Factory setting" shrugged Sparrow. "Guess they're not that stupid. Try and turn the ring one number at a time, so we can see... Ely!"

Elely stood up and pulled the osamoda away from the door with a resolute expression.

"Stasis inside, door jammed, right?"

Sparrow nodded. "Imperial standard. See these pipes? There's a lot of them in the walls."

Elely tipped her hear, studying the lock. "One system, yes?"

"Yes. Ely!"

Glass cracked under the heel of an officer's boot and stasis hissed out into the air.

* * *

Heavy boots weren't a rare sight these days, unlike bare blue feet. Surprised, Flopin raised his head.

"Most iops are smarter than to enter Imperial service" he noted. A look of righteous indignation flashed through the iop girl's round face. Then she grinned and pulled the hat off her head, letting down a wave of fiery red hair.

"We're here to save you! I'm Elely, that's Sparrow-"

An alarm blared somewhere down the hall.

"You've destroyed the system!" yelled the osamoda. "Goultard wanted-"

"Goultard, he's here?"

The iop nodded, so Flopin jumped off the cot.

* * *

Sirens roared somewhere in the guts of the ship, but Goultard didn't even look up from the tousle of glass pipes. He was sorely tempted to act like a iop and just pull them out, but this would immobilise the entire ship, which wasn't what he wanted. So he bit his lip and continued with the jiggery-pokery.

A stasis lamp over his head blinkered, buzzed, but then shone bright, which saved it from a close encounter with a wrench. Finally Goultard found the pipe he was looking for, unscrewed it and let the purple stasis stream out, where it promptly turned into vapour. He put the nut into his pocket, stood up, then threw the wrench into the corner. It made a clang, but one barely audible over the alarm.

Right, the alarm. Goultard was sure he hadn't been the one to set the screamy thing off, which meant bad news for the girls. Cloak and dagger, he snorted inwardly.

Heavy, metal-shod steps thumped in the wail of the sirens.

* * *

Waves were splashing at the sides of the ship. The small tofu flattened himself on the porthole glass, concealing the inside from Ruel's view. Not that he had been looking, it's just that dead clients don't pay very well.

"Should have told 'em no" he grumbled under his breath. "Stupid iops."

The tofu twittered, angry, and the enutrof shrugged.

"Won't open if you knock all night" he remarked, seeing the bird attack the glass like a demented woodpecker.

* * *

A ball of stasis splashed on the wall, hair's breadth from Elely's head. The girl, in midst of a mad dash down the hall, laughed out loud.

"Cross-eyes!" she shouted.

"Blind alley!" yelled Sparrow, and Flopin groaned. In front of them a wooden wall, behind them foggernaut troopers and a iop who laughed whenever something flashed purple. One of these days.

"What now?" the osamoda squeaked. Flopin trailed his hands along the wall panelling.

"Who exactly planned this little excursion?"

The cra's fingers met an edge of a particular board.

"Woo! Always wanted to try this!" Elely shouted. The cra, with a soft sigh, pulled at the panel.

"What is this?" He didn't need to see the osamoda to know she was wrinkling her nose.

"Ventilation duct. Hey, iop girl!"

"You're not going-" ignoring her protests, he pushed the osamoda inside the duct. Her tail lashed at his leg, but probably not on purpose.

"We're retreating!"

"Already?" With a graceful parry the iop sent a stasis ball right into the technomage closest to her. Flopin pulled himself up after the grumbling osamoda.

"Cover our backs!"

"Yessir!" Elely backed out slowly, the tip of her sword drawing figure eights in the air.

"Ya!" she yelled, deflecting a purple bubble right into the dome of the foggernaut who shot it. Then she spun and run into the ventilation duct.

* * *

Goultard looked over the brass colossus who stood in his way to the exit. He gave him a slight nod.

"Hi, Yugo" he said, offhandedly. "Long time no see."

"What are you doing here?"

The voice that came from the cloud of stasis within the technomage fish-bowl was low and even, completely unlike the boyish voice Goultard remembered.

He shrugged. The sufokian uniform jacket slid down to the floor.

"Sightseeing" he rested his hand on the pommel of his sword. "Nice bucket o' bolts."

"Legendary iop foolishness" the foggernaut rumbled. In his metal hand a blue sword shone, made of pure wakfu.


	4. Clang, clang, clang

Clang, clang, clang. A small tofu was rhythmically hitting the glass, increasingly furious chirps punctuating the hits.

"It opens from the inside! Inside, birdbrain!"

Muttering under his breath some not very nice things about tofus in general, Ruel pulled a large screwdriver from his pocket.

"You want in, I'll get you in, just stop making noise! Bloomin' cloak and dagger..."

He pushed the bird away from the brass porthole frame and set upon it with his screwdriver. Metal screeched on metal like tooth on fool's gold. If not this way, then another, enutrof thought, tossed the tool in the air and caught it by the shaft.

The tofu whistled, making Ruel stop tapping at the stuck bolt.

"Here, do it your way. No? Shut up then! Dragon's guts!"

* * *

Steel clinked on wakfu. Goultard slid under the blue blade and behind some machine. Yugo's sword hit a brass pipe with a clang and a spark.

"You have not come simply to spy" the foggernaut's voice sounded to the iop like a well-working machine. Not a trace of tiredness.

"You think?" Goultard went around a thick metal column, flanking Yugo. The blades crossed.

"You hid yourself in that hermitage of yours" the technomage continued. "Very shrewd."

Steel slid on brass. Goultard dodged. He ran over a row of low metal boxes.

"Thanks" he said, jumped off and parried the wakfu blade with his sword.

"Did you think my memory was so short?"

The iop laughed so sharply the next strike nearly hit him. He parried, still giggling.

"Listen to yourself."

The wakfu sword swished in the air, but Goultard reflected the blow easily.

* * *

"Ventilation duct" muttered Sparrow. "Ventilation duct. Of all the stupid, worn-out, impractical-"

"Somebody had to save our skins" Flopin growled. They were scrambling forwards on all fours, in a single file, making noise like a gobbal in a ladle store. The cra kept expecting a ball of stasis to shoot through the ceiling and pull an arm or a leg off him or one of the girls. The sock-like, slightly nauseating smell wasn't improving his mood, either.

"Thanks" Sparrow said under her breath.

"Next time-"

"Quiet!" Elely nearly drowned out her own admonishment when she banged a fist on the wall.

"He-"

"She-"

"Shush! Stop! No noise!"

The sudden silence rang in their ears even louder than knees banging on tin.

"El-" Flopin started, but she shushed him.

"Engine room" muttered Sparrow. "It's the engines."

True, when he focused on the background instead of the sound of blood pulsing in his ears, there was a pulse-like grinding and churning. Engines, maybe. He wouldn't know. There was a less rhythmical clank of metal on metal, barely audible. As if someone was starting a fire.

"Goultard" whispered Elely.

"What?"

"How do we get out?" She swung her hands around, making a shukrutish din, banged her knee on the tin bottom of the shaft. Flopin's teeth rang with that noise.

"Wait-" he cried, but the metal panel gave way and all three of them spilled out into the light like ripe fruit.

* * *

Racket behind his back passed through the surface of Goultard's consciousness, fleeting from the blade of light which the iop deflected, right into the brass armour. The clang was very satisfying.

"Do be more careful." This useful advice on the iop's part was thanked for with a hit that would have made him see stars, if he hadn't moved away in time.

"Are you threshing rye?" he admonished, pushing the wakfu blade down with his own. Then he twirled his sword, cause why not?

"Goultard!" a voice squeaked behind him. Oh, great.

"Not your fight, Elely" he said, attacking the blue blade. "Run!"

With the corner of his eye he saw a glimpse of ginger. "You never let me do anything!"

And he laughed, despite himself. She was so like her father.

"A pair of iops trying to overthrow the Empire" groused the foggernaut.

"One'd be enough" Elely charged, gracefully avoided the wakfu blade and her sword rang on the brass belly. With a sweep of his arm the foggernaut threw her on the wall.

"Sending children against me, Goultard?"

"Elely!" Sparrow yelled, but Flopin was the first to reach the iop girl, limp like a rag doll in the corner. Biting his lip, he was trying to ascertain whether he can move the wounded, but she suddenly fluttered her eyelids. A glassy look of her brown eyes focused somewhere around the tip of the cra's ear.

"Are you all right?"

"Help me... up..."

With Sparrow's assistance he, very carefully, did, but he didn't miss the soft wheezing.

"I have to-"

"Lie down" Flopin muttered, arm firmly around her waist. Metal screeched on metal. Master Goultard was dancing pirouettes around the foggernaut, like a mosquito flying circles around a hulking war engine.

"Have to... help" Elely moaned.

Suddenly a yellow pom-pom was fluttering in front of cra's face, shrieking loudly.

"How did you get here?"

"Good" said Sparrow, but Elely cried "No! Az, we can't-"

"Run away, kids!" shouted Goultard over the clangour of blades.

"No!"

"I'll catch up!"

"Don't distract him!" hissed Sparrow. Az flew, chirping, towards the exit, then back, then forth, while they were pulling the iop girl in his wake.

* * *

The tofu was fluttering, tweeting, checking the side corridors, sprinting forwards and back to them, and he kept rushing Flopin and Sparrow, who were walking as fast as they could with a iop locked between them. Elely was looking over her shoulder every couple of steps.

Az led them to an open porthole, through which a bearded, bald enutrof was staring. Judging by the look on his face, he's just lost at least ten kamas.

"Hurry up" he grumbled, seeing them. "Time's money!"

"You came with this one? You're braver than I thought."

Together they pushed the struggling iop into the relatively safe enutrof's arms. Flopin let Sparrow go next, Az clutching at her white hair, then she helped him pull through. A cool breeze combed his hair, the boat, nearly invisible in the darkness, rocked gently under cra's weight.

There was a low rumble from inside the ship, like a distant thunder. A wave pushed the boat away.

"Gotta run" the enutrof muttered. On the bottom of the boat, Elely jerked.

"Goultard!"

Purple light filled the porthole. The enutrof pushed the boat away with his shovel. "At oars!"

But the wave and the crash were enough to push the small dinghy in the right direction

* * *

As soon as she was on board, Elely climbed to the crow's nest and stayed there until dawn, while Flopin listened for the sound of the machines.

In the morning the darkness unveiled the sea, grey and crumpled, framed in the mouth of the cove. Empty to the horizon.

"Oi, there!" Ruel yelled from the deck. "Clear?"

"Nobody here but us" Elely whispered, hugging herself.

"Platinum Kama" hoisted sail and slowly, carefully, went out to the open sea wrinkled with favourable wind. None of its passengers saw a green bit of brass attached to the side of their ship, nor the glint of a salt-foggy lens set in the piece of metal.

* * *

Flopin, hands clasped behind his back, was studying the shushu map on the mast and the red line of course that was drawn on it.

"We'll be in Sadida tomorrow, kid" said Ruel from the steering wheel.

"Mhm" the young cra straightened his back and nodded. "That was too easy."

"Puff! You didn't have to screw a porthole open! Easy, sure."

A highbrowed look didn't impress the enutrof in the slightest, although it did get a typical shushu chuckle out of the map.

"It's not over yet" said Flopin.

"It is for me. I take the cash, then I'm out."

"The cash Goultard promised" the map reminded him, but Ruel just shrugged.

"The kid is dumb, meaning honourable, like all iops. She'll come up with something. Besides this one" he tipped his head at Flopin, "must have a grateful family there."

The cra stared at him icily and Ruel whistled a merry whistle which wasn't quite in tune.

* * *

"Hey."

Elely moved closer to the railing post, so Sparrow could get into the crow's nest.

"How're you doing?"

The iop girl, eyes fixed to the horizon, rested her temple on the cool wood.

"That well, huh?"

"I can't believe he's gone" Elely mumbled.

"Ely-"

"I can't, okay? He's alive" she sniffed, and the osamoda stroked her shoulder. Then she reached out to the sky.

"What are you doing?" The sun shone so brightly that Elely's eyes screwed shut on their own free will. But she heard wings flapping and smelled something very much like the fishermen huts at the Eastern Harbour.

"Chatting" said Sparrow. Then she got out a squawk worthy of a very sick gobbal and the bird, albatross probably, answered with a similar caw.

"What about?" Elely asked without real interest.

"Weather, mostly" the albatross for 'weather' sounded exactly like a knife dragged across a plate.

Finally the bird flew away, wings flapping, and Elely's nose found fresh (ish) air again.

"We'll have good wind the whole way to Sadida."

"Mhm" Elely hung her head before opening her eyes. Still, there were indescribable flecks of light dancing against the planks.

* * *

"They can't hold a portal for long" said Ruel. The map cackled madly, alongside the seagulls.

"A short while is enough."

"Listen, kid. There's a lot of shushu in this world-"

The map, despite having no throat, choked with laughter.

"Wanna worry about it, that's your problem" the enutrof continued, "but I don't care."

He slapped the shushu, which finally shut the demon up, although several small pictures did appear alongside the red course line. As far as Flopin could see, they weren't fit to be shown to children.

"The wind's going to be fine" said Sparrow, running onto the bridge. She nearly crashed into the young cra, who was just leaving it.

"Sorry. Hey, what's the matter?"

"Your friend is a true mercenary" Flopin said, squeezing between her and the railing and down the steps. "He only cares about his own purse."

Osamoda stared after him for a moment before spinning and yelling at Ruel "What did you say to him?!"


	5. The sun was already low over the sea

The sun was already low over the sea, dying it a syrupy gold, when "Platinum Kama" arrived at the port. Not wasting a moment, Flopin found the commander of the royal garrison and soon the passengers of "Kama" mounted courier dragoturkeys to carry the dearly paid for plans, and, in Ruel's case, a hefty bill, to the Great Tree.

* * *

A large hall they were led into was lit by blue glow of magic, radiating out from the large table in the centre. The light accentuated the sharp features of a tall, slim cra, clothed in black, who looked up when they entered.

"Mum!"

Flopin ran towards her, and the woman hugged him close. "We feared the worst."

From the shadows a sadida man emerged, great as an oak tree, his bushy beard streaked with brown grey. He was wearing the wooden crown of Sadida.

"I see you made it, after all, my boy."

"I had help."

"About that" Ruel started, rummaging in his pockets. "I'd like to-ow!"

Sparrow, Az on her shoulder, walked out from behind him and bowed her head.

"Your Highness" Flopin extricated himself from his mother's embrace, "this is Goultard's pupil, Elely" the iop would swear she saw the cra woman flinch. Maybe it was a trick of the light? It seemed a bit like reflection from a pond, those brighter lines flowing.

"Ruel Stroud, who allowed me the use of his ship, and his first mate, Sparrow."

"Mate, my shovel" Ruel mumbled, rubbing his side.

"We gladly welcome Flopin's friends" the king said formally, inviting them closer with a gesture of his bulky arm.

"Oh" escaped Elely's lips. A tangle of glowing lines covered the tabletop, making up a detailed chart of the bay they landed in. As the iop was looking, a tiny ship appeared on the edge of the map and floated towards the docks. Unable to stop herself, she poked at it.

"Aw!" she giggled. "Tickles."

"This is the last work Otomai has made for us" the king explained, "as beautiful as it is useful. Speaking of useful... Flopin, what news do you bring?"

The young cra stood at the head of the table. He dramatically cleared his throat. Then he got out the vial full of blue liquid, and Elely stared down at the top of the mast of the tiny ship, but the map suddenly slid out of her view, revealing the dark wood underneath.

"It is certain" Flopin began. "The portal is close to being finished. Thank you."

The sadida servant girl who spread a blank sheet of paper before him curtsied and scurried away.

"The bontarian scouts have found out its location."

Blue ink glowed, flowing on paper as if pushed by an invisible brush. Some of the thin lines gathered, making up a drawing of something Elely would take for a round stone well if she didn't know better. Other lines mapped out the shoreline of an unfamiliar island.

"Zinit" Flopin's mother sighed, even before the ink swirls marked out the name. "They have used the Zinit."

"Exactly" the young cra nodded. "The portal will soon be ready to open. We're pressed for time."

"We have to blow this thing up" Elely thought out loud. All eyes turned to her, some gazing confusedly, some amused. In the irises of the black clothed cra there was a twinkle like in a drop of water.

"Yes, that's precisely what we have to do" the king said calmly. "But how do we get about this, miss Elely?"

The iop bit her lip.

"We can't approach from any direction" explained Flopin "it's all either cliff sides or guards."

Az twitted, Sparrow nodded "You're right. We can go from above."

"The cra have flying mounts" Flopin's mother, forehead wrinkled, was staring at the chart. "If we hit it with storm arrows here and here..."

"It might just work. The magic capacitor" Flopin moved his finger over the paper, "that's the important part. I talked about this with master Joris. If we overload it..."

"Then?" Elely prompted.

"Both portals will collapse into nothingness. The wakfu polarisation will reverse, there are stasili crystals in the capacitor. They'll shatter."

"Are you sure they won't take Krosmos with them?" asked the king sceptically, but Flopin shook his head.

"Portals are unstable by their very nature, always on the verge of collapse. When the capacitor blows, it destroys the stone circle and the portal won't have any anchoring anymore."

* * *

Dragoturkey claws scratched on wood. Ruel groaned, and so did the cart suspension.

"Sparrow! Move it already!"

The osamoda, a heavy box in her arms, was looking at the neighbouring branch of the Tree, at the flying reptiles, their scales shining in the morning sun like gunmetal. Among the blonde heads of the cra and their forest-coloured clothes she saw glimpses of a white tunic and a shock of red hair.

"We should help" Sparrow muttered.

"First of all, get that box in there. Second of all, only an idiot would go right into the Empire's hands. Third of all-"

Sparrow pushed her load onto the cart.

"You'll just take the money and go?"

Enutrof gave her the sort of a look normally reserved for people who ask whether the sky is blue.

A screech of a flying reptile pierced the air. The osamoda flinched. She climbed on the seat besides Ruel, who immediately flapped the reins and the cart rolled down the ramp.

* * *

"So, just like a dragoturkey, right?" Elely summed up, patting the animal's scaly flank. It was quite like a dragoturkey, anyhow, except for these bat-like wings. They had to knot the harness in all sorts of silly shapes just to keep them from getting hurt.

The tall, thin cra nodded, sort of hesitantly. "But you have to remember you're flying."

"I do. Pull reins to go up, loosen to go down?"

"Other way around."

"Mhm. Hey, Flopin! Ready?"

"Try to stay just a little serious" the young cra grinned, which made him look... well, serious wasn't the word for it, not with the goggles on his forehead. He handed Elely a second pair of them, and leather gloves.

"Put them on, it's windy up there. Everyone ready, Oakley?"

"Sir."

"Pull down, loosen up" the iop repeated under her breath. Oakley nodded at Flopin to call him aside.

"Are you sure?"

"That I want her with me? Why?"

"She's inexperienced."

"But enthusiastic. She'd be unable to wait and follow us anyway. Besides" he said with a wry smile "are you telling me to be careful? You weren't told what we're attempting to do?"

"Attention, please" Flopin's mother stood on a high platform, clearly visible over the sea of grey wings. She was wearing the googles on her forehead, too, and holding a pair of gloves.

"We'll split into two groups" she said. "Our scouts found the Imperial fleet concentrating around the Zinit."

Elely, who was there when they were making the plan and wasn't as patient as the cra, patted her mount's rough, scaly skin. She smiled at Flopin, who stood beside her, adjusting something in the shiny new crossbow on his arm.

"You'll hit it?"

"Mm? I'll try."

"My master" she swallowed before continuing "always said you shouldn't try, just do. Or die in the blaze of glory" she added with a bright smile. Flopin blinked, snorted and shook his head.

"Iops."

"Good luck!" his mother finished the briefing.

* * *

"We are approaching the Zinit" one of the girls at the screens reported. General Moffette nodded at her.

A new ship, straight out of the factory, full of new shiny toys - that alone would be enough to brighten her mood.

"We'll crush them in one strike" she giggled "so you don't have to search for the kids anymore, huh?"

She nudged Yugo with a clanging sound, but the technomage was silently staring at the window, at the dark silhouette of the mountain ahead. Scowling and massaging her elbow, Moffette walked up to the screens. She wrinkled her nose.

"Magnify."

"Sadidan ships ahead, madame" said the operator dutifully. Moffette pushed her aside.

"Look, Yugo! They can't wait! Ha! Prepare the stimflexes!"

* * *

"Weee!"

Flopin's stomach, judging by the blowing of the wind, landed somewhere near his ears.

"Focus!" he yelled. The iop girl obediently levelled off.

"Sorry" she called happily. "Why don't the cra fly all the time?"

"No idea" muttered Flopin, straightening in the saddle.

"Hey, that island, is that it?"

He nodded, then remembered he was sitting behind her and said right into the girl's pointy ear "We're almost there. But please, go back to formation."

"Oh, right" the wind blew her laughter away, but Flopin was holding to his pilot firmly and could feel her every move. He rolled his eyes. Elely pulled at the reins, and the mount squeaked, sliding back on its place in the group.

The dark shape of Zinit was growing bigger in front of them. Flopin could see the stone ring at its top, as if someone had attached a hanger to the summit.

"Iop! Look at size of that thing" said Elely.

On the blue surface underneath them shone brass Sufokian ships. A handful of sparks shot from the largest one towards them.

"Stimflexes!" yelled Flopin. Grey mounts scattered across the sky.

"That's where the fun begins" Elely pulled the reins.

* * *

General Moffette, cackling loudly, squeezed the control stick to send a ball of stasis in the nearest flying monster. Grey and purple smudges danced around her.

* * *

Sea water splashed Flopin's knees, but before he knew it, the mount darted upwards, then turned suddenly. Corner of his eye, the cra saw a purple flash. He closed his eyes against the wind.

"Shoot them!" Elely shouted. They plummeted down.

"Level off!" he yelled back, right into her ear. The mount somersaulted, then shot up and, wonder of wonders, did level off. The cra opened his eyes.

They were floating above a chaos of arrows, stasis beams, wings and brass barrel-like stimflexes. He tried to see the dark silhouette of his mother, but from this height all the tiny figures of cra, glued to the grey backs, seemed black.

"We're wasting time" called Elely. "Got to explode this portal!"

Flopin clung to her back. Elely's hair smelled of sea salt and wood. The mount spun suddenly, dodging a purple beam, disorientating the cra.

"Flopin!"

"Go! To Zinit!"

* * *

Yugo watched a grey reptile leave the group. The rider evaded technomage's shot, and now, as Yugo had foreseen, flew right at Zinit.

"I have you now."

* * *

"Stimflex, tailing us!"

Elely laughed out loud.

"Kamas to hazelnuts I'll shake him off!"

* * *

The animal was dancing among the clouds like a true dragon, seemingly not even noticing the stasis bursts from the stimflex cannon. But it was a sad mockery of the real thing, truly. No matter how skilled the rider was, it had to tire out soon. And Yugo had had years to learn patience.

* * *

The portal was so close they didn't even need a crossbow, Elely could hit it with a shoe. Provided she had the chance to throw it.

"Level off!"

She sent the mount sharply down, circling the stimflex, but the machine turned and for a moment it and the reptile danced around each other. Elely narrowed her eyes, loosened the reins, let the mount shoot up.

"It's following us!" shouted Flopin. Elely turned back, darted through the portal circle, but nearly collided with the stimflex head on. She thought she heard a claw screech on glass.

"It didn't help!"

"Shoot him!"

Flopin leaned back, aiming his crossbow right at the stimflex cannon. Purple glow burned inside the barrel.

"Goddess..."

There was a screech. A white streak swept the stimflex right off the sky.

"Huh?"

"Sparrow! Elely shouted. "Look!"

Underneath them, in a formation the cra would be proud of, seagulls and albatrosses were ramming the brass cans of stimflexes. Among the green Sadidan sails Flopin saw a familiar, brownish red one, and a tiny doll of a figure standing in the crow's nest.

"Ha!"

"Let's blow this thing and go home" Elely turned the mount, levelled off, and Flopin sat up straight. Carefully he aimed and shot.

The blaze flooded the world like Orgest's tears.

* * *

Golden light filled the great hall in Sadida Palace. The fair hair of cra gleamed, the sadida were green like fresh spring buds. Even Ruel's bald head shone.

Az, comfortably perched on her shoulder, whistled into Elely's ear. When she turned her head to smile at him, her eyes met the green irises of Flopin, who stood by the iop girl's right hand.

Sparrow, who had swapped her beads for a sadidan headband with a flower, blushed dark blue when lady Evangeline, regal in her black dress, took a medal from a sadidan maiden's hands.

Wonder what Ruel's thinking, thought Elely, gold medal on a green ribbon weighting her neck.

Az twittered happily. Flopin, Elely and Sparrow bowed before the king and lady Evangeline, then they bowed before the gathered crowd. Their cheer shook the walls of the hall.


	6. It is a dark time for the Free Sadida

_It is a dark time for the Free Sadida. Although the Shukrute portal has been destroyed, Imperial troops have captured the Great Tree, and along with it the power over the life and death of the green people._

 _A group of freedom fighters, led by lady Evangelyne and her son, is fighting the forces of the Empire from a hidden base in the forest._

 _The evil Darth Yugo, obsessed with revenge against Flopin and Elely, has dispatched thousands of Stasis-powered spies to search for them..._

They slowed down to a trot. The dragoturkeys' claws were squelching in the mud. Elely brushed a leather-hard vine aside before it touched her face.

"Hush! Hear that?" Sparrow hissed. She was much too tense for a steamy, sleepy day like this one.

"Eh?"

The snort from the osamoda's steed made the iop turn to look at her friend. Sparrow was listening intently, worrying her lip and patting the dragoturkey's neck. Her dark blue skin was noticeably paler after spending a year in the forests.

"Spa-"

The osamoda clicked her tongue, pointing at a bush. Elely slid to the ground. Hand on the pommel, she navigated the branches, searching for the glint of metal. Leaves were tickling her bare shoulders.

Aha! Glass flashed in the shadows, a lens.

One quick move and two halves of a brass machine fell onto the dead leaves. Its vicious claw made one last gash in the moss.

"Did it see you?"

Elely squatted to pick up the bits. Better not to leave stuff around, especially since the Sadida frowned at litterers in their forest.

"No..."

"We should go back. Tell lady Evangelyne." Both the dragoturkeys followed Sparrow obediently, she didn't even hold their reins. Elely shoved the remains of the machine into her friend's saddle bag.

"You go. I'll look around some more."

"Ely-"

"I've been cooped up for a week" she snapped. "Let me do our rounds properly, at least."

"If the Imperial spies are here-"

"Hey" Elely gave her a roguish, over-the-shoulder smile, before hopping on her steed's back. The dragoturkey danced impatiently in place.

"You know me."

* * *

The forest of Sadida was a lot like their nettle soup. Thick, hot, steamy and full of green stuff. Impossible for a dragoturkey to walk three steps straight, and five steps without jumping on or off one of those thick boughs that crept on the ground. Here and there those brown nuts dangled, the ones the Sadida would enlarge magically to make their huts, and the entire place was netted over with vines and leaves, large as her palm.

If it wasn't for them, Elely would gallop full pelt. She missed feeling the wind in her hair. But, since she wasn't very keen on hanging in the thicket like a fish in the net until found by the Imperials or something even worse, she went slowly, keeping an eye out for flashes and glints among the greenery. Her dragoturkey snorted.

"What?" she patted its neck, and it stepped back. A vine, oddly scratchy, slithered off the iop's ear.

"Hey, I don't like it here, either" the smell of the forest sort of thickened, gaining a sweetish, insect-like note that turned Elely's stomach.

"Don't be such a girl" she said, fondly. The dragoturkey answered with a grunt, so she stroked it. A rough vine caught at her hair.

"You'll be fine, I promise" the vine held fast. When she reached to get it out, it snagged on her fingers, sharp like burdock. And sticky. Yuck. She grabbed it and pulled hard, to no avail.

"Come on!"

The dragoturkey shrieked like a gobbal being slaughtered. It trotted in place.

"Stop!" the iop kicked its sides. It huffed, but did stop.

"There's nothing here."

Something rough and icky scratched against her neck. A sweet, sickly smell, like a wardrobe full of moths, tickled her nose. She sneezed.

Her dragoturkey dashed forwards, tripped on a root, before Elely managed to yell at it.

* * *

She woke up with a dull headache and a heavy feeling, as if she were a sodden, dripping rag. And quite a lot of nausea, too, possibly because of the mothy smell, almost tangible now. Disgusting. She opened an eye.

"It's night already?" Elely's voice echoed softly amongst... what?

"Hey?" she shouted and hissed with pain, because, soft as the echo was, it filled her tender head with a half-audible tingle. Slowly, fighting her stiff muscles, she propped herself on her elbows. Something snapped right in front of her and she yelped when a sharp, whip-like thing lashed at her arm.

"Oww..."

Her legs were weighted down with something gluey. She reached to move it aside, and swallowed a moan of disgust, pulling her fingers out of the heap of rough strands that wouldn't let go. Gave it several kicks, but it held fast. Slowly, as if her head was filled with molasses, it dawned on Elely that she had a sword. She groped for it.

The blade made short shrift of these sticky strands.

Elely got up, a bit wobbly, gripping her sword hard.

It was really dark. Outstretching her foot to feel in front of her, she nearly got herself trapped in yet another heap of rough string. What a mess. She sniffed.

It must have been the strings that reeked of moths, because when Elely turned, she felt a whiff of fresh air. So she followed it.

Something hissed, barely audible. Then a click, like someone tapping out a rhythm with sticks. A wave of thick, nauseating smell rolled over Elely. She coughed.

A click. A hiss. Elely spun, sword in hand, leaped forwards, head-first into the wall of stench.

Coughing, eyes wet, she swung her sword blindly. It hit something dry, like wood. Elely pushed it. The crushing noise hurt her ears.

A spike pierced Elely's free arm. With a yell, she swung her sword, hitting the wood that wasn't wood, then she ran, forwards, as fast as she could.

* * *

When she slowed down, panting, the air seemed fresher, cooler, if still sort of sticky. Drops of sweat rolled down her arms and neck. The wounded arm hung like a dead weight, like it wasn't part of her body, but something crudely attached to it. She couldn't move it. Somehow this seemed a bad thing.

Coarse, sticky strands were catching at her hair, her tunic, scratching her cheeks. She felt herself shaking, but she wasn't cold, just heavy. Her feet were getting harder and harder to lift.

Her good arm met the cold stone wall of the tunnel, so she went on, trailing it with her hand. The rock was slowly turning smoother and softer, like a blanket. Elely yawned.

"Don't fall asleep, Ely" whispered...

"Goultard?" It didn't even feel strange. Not the first time he just appeared out of the blue.

A strong arm embraced her and the iop allowed herself to be led into the darkness. Goultard smelled of tree sap.

"There always have been arachnae in this cave" he said. "Couldn't you have found a better place?"

"Mhm..."

"Stay with me a bit longer."

"Okay..."

"Elely! As soon as you're better, you have to go to the heart of the Sadida forest, do you understand?"

"Mhm... Why?"

"You must find Adamai, the dragon. Got it?"

"Heart of the forest, the dragon... but why?"

"Remember, Ely. I'll leave you here."

"All right." She felt warm, comfortable and sleepy. Elely's eyes fluttered closed.

* * *

With greatest care, Ruel wiped his hands with a rag, which he then flopped and folded, before scrutinising his hands and reaching for the rag again.

Sparrow cleared her throat. The old enutrof concentrated on wiping away a brown spot near his thumb. Even in the light of the mining lamps it was obviously a liver spot, and she told him so.

"Yeah?" Ruel raised his hand, almost touching the lamp glass, spread his fingers and stared at it, as if it was a particularly interesting geological specimen.

"And they say this sadidan cooking is the healthiest..."

Sparrow stomped, but he continued calmly "Guess I have to leave, you know, for my health."

"We're needed here."

"Yeah?" He didn't even look at her, the horrible old man! Sparrow put her hand against the wall. "Yes! You dug half of these tunnels! You're a... a... a digging machine!"

"That's impolite." the enutrof gave up, tossed the rag into the corner and left for the great hall, followed by the irritated osamoda.

"Anyway, since the place's ready, what am-"

"What if we need to move? Or when there's a battle? You're experienced!"

They entered the inhabited part of the base and Sparrow had to press herself to the wall to let through a group of cra, whom Ruel simply shoved aside.

"Sorry. Ugh. Stroud! I'm not done yet!"

The enutrof stopped in the turn of the corridor, arms folded, and stared at her from underneath his bushy eyebrows.

"What is it, lass? Want to stay with the boyfriend, stay."

"The boy... are you out of your mind?"

"Oh, Floppy, sweetie" the enutrof twittered, fluttering his eyelashes. The osamoda whacked him.

"It's dangerous to leave now" she said calmly, evenly.

"You're red like an api."

Before Sparrow got her speech back, they were approached by a slim cra in black clothes.

"Ruel" the cra said. "Haven't changed your mind?"

"I've been telling him," Sparrow rested her forehead on the cool stone wall "but he won't listen."

"You know my arguments, Eva."

The cra nodded.

"I know you, and it's hard to believe you'd care so much about paying a debt."

"Really-"

"But" the cra interrupted "I'm not the empress and won't force anybody to stay here."

"Thank you, lady" the enutrof muttered. Evangelyne said "Of course, Sparrow, if you want to stay..."

"Can't. But thank you." The osamoda looked down.

* * *

"Women" Ruel muttered. What's up with her? It's not like I'd make her go. He shook his head. He made a proper base for these Enutrof-forsaken rebels. Now they could hold it as long as they wanted.

And - he did it for free. Completely. What more does she want?

Made a door to that natural cave, even, despite the weird smell and an utter lack of reason to go there. Nothing interesting in this sort of a rock, anyway. He was just going back for his tools.

There they were, around the gaping black hole in the wall, as he's left them. Right. Wait a minute...

"Hey, ginger! Don't you have a room?"

Among Ruel's pickaxes, her red head supported by an outstretched arm, the iop was lying, completely lost to the world. The enutrof put his hands on his hips. Was that supposed to be funny?

"Wake up!"

Not even a twitch from her. The youth of today. Ruel walked closer, honestly intending to kick the gal's backside, but he suddenly stopped. There were silvery strands in her red hair.

"Kiddo?"

Silver, glittering strands clung to her other arm and tunic.

"Kid, fun's over. Get up."

He squatted to give her a nudge, gentler, than intended. Then he caught the girl's wrist, limp like a young root.

He swore.

Her heartbeat was awfully slow. Ruel's medical knowledge did end on cleaning wounds with bamboo milk, from the inside, if possible, but he wasn't born yesterday.

"Eniripsa!" he yelled, shaking some dust off the ceiling.

"Eniripsa!"

* * *

"The corridor's closed" Ruel said, walking in. "I'll add it to the bill."

None of the people gathered in the infirmary spared him a glance. Florence was busy drawing a complicated doodle in the air over the unconscious Elely, while Flopin was holding his mother, as nervous as if it was her son who almost got eaten by an arachna and following eniripsa's every movement. Sparrow sat in the corner, gnawing at her knuckles. Ruel pulled himself a stool, grimacing at the screech of wood on the floor.

"Got what you wanted" he muttered. "We'll stay a bit longer."

The osamoda stared at him like one stared at a tax-gatherer. He shrugged, but before he said anything, the iop sighed.

"The danger's over" said Florence, putting her wand behind her ear. She touched Elely's forehead.

"How do you feel?"

"Like I was... trampled by gobbals..."

"Ely!" Sparrow yelled right into Ruel's ear and dashed to hug her pal, the enutrof forgotten. Well, good thing, too. The kids were talking, Evangelyne held the iop's hand, and the eniripsa backed out quietly.

"We never knew they had a nest here" explained Flopin.

"You were incredibly lucky."

"Mhm... lucky..."

She still felt a bit like an empty bellow, but her head was clearer than ever.

"Listen... I might have to leave for a while..."

Flopin looked her in the eye. Sparrow blinked.

"Where do you want to go?" lady Evangelyne asked softly, stroking the iop's hand, but the osamoda got her tongue back and sprung up, toppling her chair.

"I can't believe it! Why don't we just surrender?"

"What?"

"I get Ruel wanting to run, but you? Argh!" Red with anger, Sparrow stormed out and slammed the door. Flopin stood up, looked at the confused iop, then sat back down with a heavy sigh.

"You've all gone nuts" Elely muttered.

"Well, Stroud and Sparrow have" said Flopin.

"He wants to leave, she'd like to stay" Evangelyne explained.

"What's the problem?"

The cra exchanged glances, then Flopin shrugged.

"No idea. But she's foaming at the mouth."

Elely swallowed a yawn.

"You should rest" said lady Evangelyne, rising.

"Yes, we can talk later" Flopin added. "Goodnight."

* * *

Unfortunately, Elely did not get much time to recover. The very next morning the scouts brought news of the Imperial forces concentrating on the edge of the Sadida's forest. Soon it became obvious that, burning and trampling the trees, the enemy army was heading straight for the hidden Rebel base.

Lady Evangelyne decided to evacuate. She herself, along with a choice group of cra, was to organise and protect the retreating rebels.


	7. Crimson light flickered

Crimson light flickered among the trunks. Her dragoturkey snorted. Elely patted its neck.

"How are you doing?" lady Evangelyne took her place in the line, just by the iop's side.

"Like I could take the whole Empire myself" Elely grinned, but the cra only shook her head. In front of them a tree fell with a moan and a crash.

* * *

Sparrow pressed herself to a wall to let a pair of eniripsae pass, lugging their potions. Then she ran further into the corridor, past small groups of cra, ecaflips and fecas loaded with weapons, alchemicals and other valuables. Here and there a green head of a sadida glimpsed.

Finally she found Flopin, directing everybody from the main chamber.

"Artemisia, Oakley, north exit, go to Bonta. Jack, Ergane, these letters are to be delivered directly to queen Daihitsu. Hey!"

Osamoda tugged at his sleeve again.

"Ruel... wants to set sail... Come on."

"Not ready. Alnus, letters for the king of the Sadida-"

"The Imperials are almost here!" yelled Sparrow. The ground shook.

* * *

Imperial battle machines, huge bulging brass cans with spindly legs, kept tripping over trees, bushes and stuff. Maybe that's why they were burning out the forest. There was more red and pink there now than green.

Urging her dragoturkey to run, Elely fell a foggernaut who was targeting lady Evangelyne. The cra gave her a nod. She carefully aimed and shot a brass monster, which toppled with an almighty creak, almost like a real animal.

"Ha!" yelled the iop.

* * *

The deserted corridor billowed with dust, but the small yellow tofu flew on, as fast as his wings would carry him. He was clutching a roll of parchment that never stopped talking.

"Find the girl, are we dhrellers, or what? Give Ruel the best map in existence, and what does he do? Send me to find this gal of his! Everyone knows she'll be with her cra! And let me tell you-"

The tofu gave a sharp trill.

"How rude!" the map said, indignant.

* * *

"Flopin, come on!"

Another quake nearly sent them both to the floor, but they held on to each other. Sparrow looked Flopin straight in the green eye.

A boom shook the air. Dust rained from the ceiling down on their hair.

"Move it!"

"I have to see to-"

"You know what to do!" Sparrow shouted at the last rebels remaining in the base, two ecaflips and a feca, who were between them carrying out a heavy chest. When the feca nodded, Sparrow dragged the young cra towards the tunnel that led to the bay.

* * *

Az shook his head, picking himself up from the tunnel floor. Gingerly he straightened one wing out, then the other.

"Do something! I've been dropped onto dirt, me! A parchment of incalculable-"

The tofu rolled his eyes.

"The gate! It's the exit, stupid bird, are you-"

Grufon stopped, seeing a blue beam run through the wooden gate. Az fluttered, shrieked and backed out before the light cut the door off its hinges.

It fell down, letting in a swarm of metal soldiers. Behind them the tofu saw a tall silhouette in a flowing cloak.

With a shrill whistle, he dashed into the corridors.

* * *

One broken arachnobot wouldn't win them the battle, even though Elely felt warm fuzzies just looking at it. But the foggernauts were pressing at them. She saw more and more brass glinting between the charred trees. The iop looked around her, worried. Lady Evangelyne's secret weapon should be here already...

She slashed a foggernaut, then pulled her steed's reins, seeing shadows among the trees.

"Finally!"

From the forest, shedding leaves, marched out treechnids.

* * *

"Stop! Stop, birdbrain!" Grufon howled, but Az just clenched his claws on him and flew forwards like an arrow. He stopped before an obviously provisional door to pull off it a piece of paper that said 'Arachnae, no entry!' Then he rushed on, the paper billowing in his wake.

* * *

A group of foggernauts ran into a side corridor.

"Nothing here" said one. Another walked up to a definitely provisional door that closed the tunnel, and peeked into a gap between the planks.

"What about here?"

"That's not a good idea, Wilhelm" but the foggernaut gave the door a small push and it opened with a creak.

"Maybe there's someone there."

The leader nodded. "Check it out."

Wilhelm entered the corridor, followed by his reluctant colleague.

* * *

Meanwhile, the small tofu, wings flapping furiously, shot out a hidden exit into the forest and shrieked, when a stasis ball scorched his tail.

The battle raged. Several cras were shooting from behind an enormous metal carcass. Foggernauts were trampling the forest, and the tree-people were trampling the foggernauts.

"Come back! Back, you dumb tofu!" yelled the map. But Az just flew upwards, beak clenched.

* * *

Swearing under her breath, Sparrow was dragging Flopin down an underground corridor.

"Hey, it's the wrong way! I was going to go to Bonta!"

"You're going with us!"

"Sparrow!"

She stopped so suddenly that Flopin lost his balance and fell.

"All right! Go, get caught and let them take you to Sufokia!"

"Erm..."

He rubbed his neck. The osamoda blew her fringe off her eye, put her hands on her hips and stared at him, irritated. There was a crash deep in the tunnel. A handful of dust further dirtied their hair and clothes.

"Well?"

The cra looked down. He outstretched his hand, and the osamoda pulled him up. Together, then run down the corridor.

* * *

The Platinum Kama was waiting, sails hoisted, in a convenient little bay. Sparrow ran on board full pelt, only letting go of Flopin's hand when they were there.

"What took you so long?" Ruel growled, joining them.

"Where's the bird brain?"

"What?"

"Crow's nest, now" the enutrof pushed the cra towards the mast. "Sparrow, we're going!"

"Where's Grufon and Az?"

"Move it!" The enutrof pulled the anchor up. "Don't just stand there!"

The ship left her port, right into the range of an Imperial man-of-war. A purple ball of stasis went right through her side and the Platinum Kama started to take water.

Satisfied that she sunk by the shore of Sadida, the man-of-war sailed on.

* * *

Ruel was standing on the beach, oblivious to the water lapping at his shoes, and shaking his fist at the withdrawing Imperial stasis ship. He was also swearing fit to melt the ears off a Brakmarian.

Flopin tapped his crossbow's tiller to shake the remaining water out. He had nothing to wipe it with and hoped it would still work after drying. Sparrow crouched beside him on the sand.

"Better now?" she asked, when the enutrof stopped to catch his breath.

"Stinkards! Latrine rats! Tax-collectors take you!"

"I think he's running out of ideas" Flopin smiled, putting his weapon on a large flat stone. He pulled his knees up to his chin and looked the girl in the eye. She blinked.

"Where to now?"

The osamoda worried her lip thoughtfully. "Guess we ought to find a ship. To Bonta, maybe. Hey, Ruel!"

"Go bankrupt, you rotten-!"

"Ruel!" they both yelled. The enutrof, eyes on the horizon, grumbled "You two know how much this ship cost?"

"Yeah, a game of cards and a life-long ban on coming anywhere near the Ecaflip's Tail in Brakmar" Sparrow said, standing.

"D'you know where the nearest port is?"

"One where we won't be ripped off? Huh. Lemme think."

Cool breeze ruffled his beard. The osamoda hugged herself.

"Emelka."

"Emelka?" Flopin was nonplussed.

"Yup, Emelka. It's a bit of a walk" Ruel pushed his hands into his pockets "but we'll be there in a couple of days. My old buddy Alibert lives there, he'll help."

"For free?" the cra raised an eyebrow, but Sparrow laughed merrily.

"Pappy Alibert! I should have thought of him."

"All right, then" Flopin stood up, picked up his crossbow and the three of them started ahead.


	8. Slowly, the battle was coming to an end

Slowly, the battle was coming to an end.

The Imperial soldiers have captured the base, which they were now thoroughly ransacking, not that Az could see them do it, absorbed as he was in his watch for a shock of red hair. All he could spy, though, were flames and glinting brass.

"Guess they're gone already" muttered Grufon. "We're alone behind the enemy lines and it's your fault!"

The tofu answered with a sharp twitter, and the shushu said, resentful "Pieces? I'm going to pieces? Really, now-"

Suddenly the bird dove into the trees.

* * *

Elely wiped her sword on the hem of her tunic. She had been fighting foggernauts, but good habits should be cultivated. Goultard would always say that.

A deep, green silence surrounded her. The sour reek of rotten leaves managed to chase away the distinct smell of technomagical grease. Or maybe she was so far from the battle? She'd feel a lot better if she was able to hear it.

The dragoturkey snorted, its foot ruffling the leaves.

"Well? Better now? No more crazy fits?" hadn't this stupid beast carried her away, Elely would be banging on metal heads now. But now the iop's sensitive ear caught a noise behind a nearby bush, so she pulled the reins gently.

* * *

"You got lost! You lost us!"

Az was too tired to argue. Flying slowly, he fought to keep himself from perching on the next branch.

"There's no one here!" Grufon wailed, and the tofu clenched his beak to not drop him, as much as he would want to.

There was a rustle in the bushes. The shushu moaned "I don't want to be eaten!"

* * *

Elely pushed wet branches away from her face.

"Coming to pieces, Grufon" she said, distastefully.

"Elely!"

Az, wings flopping stiffly, fell into her arms. He dropped the map, but Elely caught it.

"Where are we?"

"Ask your fluffy friend" snarled the shushu. "He's the one who rushed into the forest."

The tofu, with a sleepy little whistle, nested in the crook of her elbow.

"You don't know, huh? That's possible?"

"Possible-shmassible" Grufon muttered. "She thinks I know everything. If I asked her about the Crimson Dawn-"

"Grufon. Yes, or no?"

The map in her hands furled with a crack. Elely shrugged, then put both it and the gently snoring Az in her saddle bag.

* * *

Dragoturkey feet were squelching in the mud. Elely tied the reins to the pommel, since she didn't know where she was going anyway, and needed her hands to push away the vines and lianas. Small, green, leafy palms kept slapping her.

It was quiet. No birds, no wind, just the annoying squelching.

Az trilled inside the bag, Grufon chortled indignantly, making Elely roll her eyes. With a splash, she slid off the dragoturkey's back.

"What are you doing?" asked the map in a suspicious tone.

"Stretching my legs" the iop caught her steed's reins. Wouldn't do to lose it. Her other hand rested on the hilt of her sword.

"No, nothing here" she answered Az's chirp.

"Nothing? Me is nothing?"

Elely spun to point her sword at a stocky, tiny guy who was seated on a bough.

"You weren't there a moment ago" she growled.

The creature's arms and legs were shiny white against the muddy greenery, and only the haystack he wore on his head might have served as camouflage. He was wearing a tunic, but it was faded, worn blue, and very much a contrast to the leaves.

From underneath the hay a pair of eyes stared, glossy black rimmed with dark blue.

"Put down your weapon, I mean you no harm!"

"Yeah? What do you mean? To ask me a riddle and lead to a magical castle?"

He tilted his head, scrutinising the iop.

"And who are you, anyway?"

"And you? Who are you, hmm?"

"Elely.

"Ah, yes." Nodding, he licked his ink-blue lips. "Elely. Percidal's daughter. Goultard's apprentice."

"What?"

"Yes, yes. In the heart of Sadidan forest, what do you seek, hmm?"

"Heart of the...? Goultard wanted me to come here! To find Adamai."

The map chortled inside the bag, but the weird creature gave a solemn nod.

"Adamai, you say."

"Yes, do you know where he is?"

"Do I" the creature giggled, covering his mouth. He outstretched a hand, and Elely hastily sheathed her sword.

"I do, always. Come, come!"

He pulled the iop with her entourage right into the thickest greenery.

* * *

A leaf, palm-sized, slapped Elely's forehead. Again. She had no idea how many leaves had done that.

She stopped, but the creature kept pulling, nearly yanking her hand out. The dragoturkey slipped, danced in place and moaned behind her back.

"Close, very close" her guide giggled, tugging at Elely's arm. His talons pressed into her hand.

"Tired?"

She snorted. Checking her saddlebag, she pulled the belt closer, to make sure Az wouldn't fall out.

"You wish."

"I sense a concentration of wakfu nearby" Grufon reported.

"Oh" Elely fished him out and unrolled, but the symbols on the map told her nothing. "That's where Adamai lives?"

"Yes, yes. You trust shushu?"

She shrugged, then turned the map, trying to orient it.

"I've known him a bit longer than I know you."

"Like father, like daughter."

Elely nearly dropped the map. She squatted, despite the mud, to look her guide in the eye. "You knew my father?"

The tiny creature chuckled.

"Powerful iop was he. A powerful iop, yes."

"Was." Elely rose, rolled the map slowly, carefully up, put it in her bag, then rested her elbows on the dragoturkey's back, closing her eyes.

"Was. So he's really dead? Goultard wouldn't tell me."

"Ah. Dead or not? Who knows. Goultard doesn't."

"Didn't, you mean."

The creature splashed the mud with his foot. "No! What I mean, I know!"

Elely, with a sigh, stroked her dragoturkey's head.

"Let's go to the wakfu place" she said "and camp there."

The white critter, surprisingly, nodded, and nearly lost his haystack in the process. Elely got a sneaking suspicion that he thought it was a hat.

"Yes. Even iop, rest needs."

"I was actually thinking about he dragoturkey. Although-" her guide darted in-between the fronds and vines.

"Come, come!" he called out somewhere in front of her. Elely shrugged and followed the voice.

* * *

Her knees were starting to complain. The dragoturkey, puffing and huffing, dragged behind Elely. At least the ground was somewhat firmer here.

"Hey! Hey, you! Are we there yet?" The only answer was a giggle from the shadows. She couldn't see her guide, try as she did.

"Here!" he laughed "Here!"

"Where?"

She pushed a curtain of pale leaves aside and blinked, when the pink, syrupy light of sunset flooded her eyes.

"Here, here!" the guide pulled her forwards. From the pink brightness shapes started to emerge; huge, rectangular whitish stone blocks, a lone column, and beside it a dark, sitting figure. Lacking a free hand, Elely wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

The man stood up. He was tall and broad-shouldered.

"Nice to see you, Elely" he said.

She let go of the dragoturkey's reins, slid her hand out of the guide's grip and walked up to him. She poked the iop.

"You?"

Goultard nodded gravely, upon which Elely whacked him with all her might.

"We all thought you were dead!"

She raised her hand again, but he caught her wrist.

"Even you?"

"Are you being funny? Ugh!"

She yanked out and sat down on the grass. Goultard squatted beside her.

"You didn't look for Adamai, as I asked?"

"Had important things to do" she said, coldly.

"Fighting the Empire?"

"To gnaw at its troops" the white creature squawked, approaching with the iop's steed in tow "the Empire hurt, it won't. Beheaded, the monster must be."

Elely shot him an askance look. The white critter giggled.

"I'm a iop, not a sram" Elely reminded him. Goultard joined her, sitting on the grass.

"A barbarian hero, hmm?" the small guy's eyebrow shot upwards to lose itself in the hay. Elely blew a lock off her eye.

"Barbarian hero and proud of it!"

"Cool it, Ely" Goultard laid a hand on her shoulder, a warm hand that melted her doubts like snow melts in the spring.

"Iop is more than swinging a sword. Remember your father?"

The girl's fingers clenched on a tuft of grass.

"Echo, he opposed" said the white creature.

"And died gloriously, I know-"

Goultard snorted. "Is that what they told you?"

"No, but-"

"He's alive" stated Goultard. "He just can't get back."

Elely looked at the white guy, who stood, motionless, holding the dragoturkey reins.

"Back? From where? Why aren't we helping?"

"Patience."

The white snout was suddenly right in her face, Elely nearly fell on her back.

"Patie... Goultard, tell him!"

"Focus, you lack!" the creature accused, nose almost touching Elely's. His dark eyes turned very, very blue up close.

"World first, your heart second!"

She pushed him away with a snort. "Well, sorry for caring!"

"Caring's a good thing, Ely" Goultard stood and helped her up.

"But in this case we're trying to kill two piwis with one stone. You might yet be forced to make a tough decision."

"Patience she lacks" the white critter squeaked. Elely thought he was right, as she really couldn't wait to kick him.

"Leave it, Adamai" said Goultard. She blinked.

"Adamai? That's Adamai? That's how dragons look?"

"Lesson one, lass" the white skin rippled, it genuinely rippled like the surface of custard when someone bumps into the table. It started bulging, swelling, growing. Elely, by pure instinct, stepped back, tripped and fell on her bum.

"Never judge by appearances" said the slim lizard, arranging himself in the grass like a content bow-meow. His white scales glittered like snow in the reddening sunlight.


	9. Long-eared silhouette of a cra

Long-eared silhouette of a cra stood black against the pink glow of the fire.

Hidden in the dark, the watcher saw the young archer stand up, circle the camp, bow down to wake one of his companions. It must have been the enutrof, judging by the hoarse cursing. The watcher, stifling a laugh, made good use of the change of guard and straightened his limbs with a pop.

When he looked again, the enutrof was standing in front of the fire, leaning on his shovel, staring at the flames and muttering at the cra. The wood cracked in the fire.

* * *

Sparrow woke, frozen stiff, in the wet grass. She sat up, biting her lip. The sky overhead was covered behind fluffy, pale grey clouds, and a piwi cooed in the forest.

Beside the osamoda, curled into a small ball, Flopin was sleeping, one ear poking upwards and twitching slightly in rhythm with the cra's dreams. Sparrow stretched, joints cracking. With a stick she stirred the embers of their small fire.

Then she threw it at the snoring enutrof. Ruel fell of the stone he was sitting on, making a good deal of noise, because his spade hit the rock.

"You shushu woman" he growled.

"You weren't supposed to sleep."

Flopin gasped. When Sparrow turned, he was sprawled on the ground, staring glassily at the sky.

"Albatross" he muttered, and the osamoda instinctively looked at the clouds before touching his shoulder. The cra flinched, blinked, then slowly sat up.

"Good morning."

"Good, my old bones" muttered Ruel. "Wonder what we're gonna eat today."

"Something we haven't found yet" Flopin shook the sleep off himself, then brushed his fair fringe off his face. He smiled at Sparrow.

"You'll be chasing piwis" the old enutrof complained, picking up his shovel "till next spring."

"There's plenty of fruit and nuts in the forest" the osamoda said, firmly.

"Fruit and fruit. Too old for that, me. I need proper food, not your vege-something-"

Paying absolutely no attention to Ruel's complaints, Flopin and Sparrow rose and started tidying up.

* * *

Her boot slid down on the wet bark, and, with a shriek, Elely landed in the mud.

She spat out a little of it before brushing her hair aside with her wet hand, which left wet, greyish streaks on her face.

"Quiet" she said, under her breath.

Goultard was squatting on the branch, keeping perfect balance. He smoothly coasted down to lend Elely a hand.

"I never said anything."

Az, perched on a nearby branch, twitted. The iop shrugged. She shook off the thick mud, eliciting a flurry of indignant chirps.

"Sorry."

The sun was already low over the treetops, infusing them with dirty pink. Without a word, Goultard and Elely started towards the ruins, absently pushing the vines away from their path.

Adamai was waiting by the fire, cross-legged on a large stone slab. His eyes were closed, hands folded in his lap, making him seem completely unaffected by time.

"You fought the moor?" cackled Grufon, who was lying by his side. Elely, in a single slow, deliberate gesture scooped some mud off her tunic and weighted it in her palm, making the shushu shut up, even if he did show her a drawing of an outstretched tongue.

"I could eat a gobbal" Elely said. She flopped onto the stone to commence the difficult operation of pulling the boot off her foot.

"Not finished for today, your lessons are" Adamai said, eyes still closed. She just snorted. The mud let go finally and she almost fell backwards, but managed to catch her balance and poured everything out of her shoe outside of the circle of light around the fire. Az, who nestled among Goultard's dreadlocks, whistled with disgust.

"I fully agree."

"You lack gravitas" the dragon's eyes shone in the twilight.

"Maybe if you just told me what the big deal was" she muttered, tugging at her other boot.

"You know what it is! It's about the world. Can't you be serious for a minute?"

She risked a glance at Goultard, who rolled his eyes. Elely swallowed a giggle.

"You're not working! Not dedicated!" Adamai went on. He stood up and started pacing, waving a hand around.

"You never even told me what it is I'm supposed to do" the iop girl outstretched her bare feet towards the fire.

"You have to work it out!" the dragon shouted. Elely had an unpleasant feeling she was being taken for an idiot.

"Because you can't give me a hint? He" she pointed at Goultard with a tilt of her hear "at least practices with me. All you do is yell."

"You're not ready, Ely" the iop said, eyes never leaving the fire.

"Okay, I get that. But-"

"No dedication to your studies!" Adamai stomped. Elely straightened and screamed "You're impossible!" before marching away between the broken stone walls.

* * *

Soon the hot anger melted away and the iop started shivering. One hand pressed to her stomach, the other - to the burning cold wall, she trudged forward in the ancient labyrinth, her eyes stinging from the tiredness and frustration.

This rancorous, mean, unfair dragon wants me to read his mind! Ugh!

Her bare foot kicked a stone and Elely yelled, more from anger, than pain. She sat under the icy wall to rub her toes. It was completely dark.

That's how she noticed a very faint blue glow, just round the corner. Wasting no time to think, she walked up to check.

The light came out of a portal. A round, like the moon in the sky, blue portal, just there in the stone wall. The iop's hand gripped her sword.

The veil of light waved, billowed, and there he stood, the huge foggernaut, right in front of Elely. The blue light was trickling down his dark armour like water.

The iop charged.

Steel came through the brass as if it was air, and Elely fell down to the stones.

"An illusion! It's not fair!"

"You think they will be fair to you?" rumbled the technomage, but the iop jumped up.

"At least you're not pretending to teach me!"

She couldn't even trip him up.

"I'm not afraid!" she yelled, top of her voice, and the portal with the foggernaut popped out of existence, leaving her in the darkness. Only after a while she saw the fire, several yards in front of her, and the two figures beside it. Goultard was sitting, head hung low, Adamai standing, hands on his hips.

"You should be" he said. "You should be."

* * *

The cra aimed carefully and shot the gap between stone scales, tripping up the golem that had been chasing Ruel. A blibli jumped on the monster's back and started hopping up and down.

Then the enutrof cut off the stone head with a swing of his shovel.

"Good job" Flopin glided off the rock he'd been using as a deer stand, while Sparrow emerged from the bush, rubbing her hands. Ruel, out of breath, rested his hands on his knees.

"I'm getting too old" he sighed.

The osamoda patted the blibli before sending it away to the forest.

"What?" she said, and Flopin winced and blinked. "What are you staring at? Something in my hair? A leaf?"

She ran a hand through her white hair. The cra laughed awkwardly.

"No, nothing, miles away, that's all. Ruel, how far to Emelka?"

"Huh? How far?"

The old enutrof straightened up, rubbing his back and muttering.

"Hmmmm... Day or two, I reckon. Ugh, me old bones..."

* * *

The sun was setting when the three wanderers stood on the summit of a low, roundish hill. Before them spread the dark rooftops of a village, with a taller house jutting out just by the road, as if waiting for guests to come.

"That's Emelka?" Flopin said. Ruel nodded before starting down the hill. His companions followed, slower.

The roadside building, which Ruel told them was Alibert's inn, had a steep, high roof, black against the flame-coloured sky. The sunset made its walls glow pink. A sign by the door was a good likeness of a mug full of foamy bamboo milk, right now with some raspberry syrup added. On the large verandah there stood, already folded for the night, tables, chairs and large umbrellas.

In general, the place looked quite nice, and Flopin said it out loud.

"Ha!" Ruel, aching bones forgotten, ran up the steps to the door. "Wait till you've tried the gobbal stew!"

The cra and the osamoda exchanged glances. Sparrow giggled, Flopin grinned. He never even noticed he was holding her hand.

"Comin'?" Ruel called them from the door.

* * *

The darkish room was filled with faint smells of cooked vegetables and something Flopin couldn't name, although it seemed familiar.

"We're closed" behind the counter, lit by a single lantern, a slim, caramel-coated ecaflip girl stood. She was wearing a peasant top, and there was a glint of gold at her neck. Ruel cleared his throat.

"It's an inn for tired travellers, right?"

"No free rooms" the cat-girl said and calmly resumed pushing a rag back and forth on the bar.

"Listen, kitty" the enutrof put his hands on the counter and looked her right in the eye. "You know who I am? Well?"

"An old tramp trying to get free lodging?"

Ruel's fist slammed down on the bar, glasses clanking, which didn't faze the girl in the slightest.

"I'm the best friend of the owner of this establishment!"

"He's out" the cat flipped her rag right in front of Ruel's nose before hanging it on a peg.

"Is he? When is he coming back?"

"No idea."

"So much for Emelka" muttered Sparrow. The coin on the ecaflip's neck spun, throwing round specks of light, when its owner leaned towards Ruel, elbows on the bar. A strand of caramel hair fell onto her nose.

"Go and find out" demanded Ruel. "And respect your elders!"

The caramel lock glimmered in the lantern light. "I respect my employer greatly, which is why I won't let just anyone into his house. Get out!"

"If you don't go get Alibert this minute, kitty, I'll see to it that you're never paid again!"

"Isn't that a bit too much?" a pleasant bass asked suddenly, followed out of the kitchen by a broad-shouldered, moustached man, straightening his cook's hat.

"Ruel, you old con! And Sparrow, you're not tired of him yet?"

"Alibert! Your waitress-"

"Is doing her job" Alibert nodded at the ecaflip. "You wouldn't believe how many people try to eat here without paying."

"Heh, heh" Ruel chuckled, but the innkeeper just slapped his back so hard he coughed.

"Nellith, get rooms ready" in two steps he was on the other side of the hall, to lock and bolt the door.

"You must be so hungry you won't mind eating in the kitchen today" he said "come right in!"

He moved aside the beaded curtain. Before entering, Ruel put his shovel next to the wall.

* * *

They decided to spend the next day planning their journey to Bonta, so, around lunchtime, Flopin and Ruel were sitting at one of the tables in the main hall, strewn with maps, and idly arguing whether a drago-express fee was worth paying, or not. The inn was nearly empty. The only guest, a masqueraider in the corner, was nursing a mug of milk and shooting them weary glances. Perhaps they were a bit more interesting than the furniture and whitewashed walls could be.

"We have no money, that's final" Ruel shoved the timetable aside with such force it fell to the floor. Flopin bent down to retrieve it.

"We could find jobs here" he said, putting the paper on the other table. In the corner of his eye, he saw something white.

He turned and gasped.

In the kitchen door, framed with pearly light that glittered in her white hair, stood an osamoda in a cream dress, perfectly accentuating her navy blue skin.

The young cra blinked. The osamoda smiled shyly.

"Well?"

She walked up to the table before he had the time to regain his speech, adding "Nellith gave it to me. As an apology."

Ruel muttered something, not looking up. Flopin stammered "You... look like a girl..." and instantly felt a burning desire to kick his own backside. 'Like a girl?' Seriously?

But Sparrow giggled and reached for a chair.

"Aren't you hungry from all these maps?" Alibert asked, entering. With a block of slips he approached the patron in the corner.

"Wouldn't say no" Ruel outstretched his hands overhead as he watched the masqueraider give the innkeeper a golden kama and leisurely stand up.

"Not much going on, huh?"

"No" Alibert's brow furrowed. Flopin suddenly realised the masqueraider was the only guest they saw today. Or yesterday.

"Travel's dangerous these days. But I make do."

"Heh, sure you do. Your cooking is reason enough to come here from another island" Ruel gave the innkeeper's wide back an almighty pat. Alibert laughed.

Flopin and Sparrow stood up at the same time, both reaching for the same rolled up map in the middle of the table. They fingertips met and they both jumped.

"Come on, everybody. We'll eat in the smaller dining room."

Both blushing, they followed Ruel and Alibert inside.

* * *

A sword chinked against a stone. Elely dodged the golem's fist, used momentum to run up a low bough, and when she got high enough, thrust her blade right into the creature's neck. It creaked.

Slowly, as if supported by invisible magic, the rocks it was made of fell to the ground.

The iop stared at them for a moment, clutching her sword.

"Good, good" the dragon screeched. She nodded, her red fringe falling into her eyes.

Adamai rose from his place in the fork of the branch to walk to her, footing as sure as if he was trekking the Cania plain, not slippery mossy bark.

"Sit down. Catch your breath."

Elely rolled her eyes, but sheathed the sword and sat. The forest around was smelling of rain and moss, a piwi sang somewhere overhead.

"Calm down your thoughts. Focus on wakfu."

A snort came out of Elely's mouth and a tough, scaly hand thwacked her arm.

"Ow."

"Focus" Adamai growled. "Dedication."

"Yes, sir" she bit her lip before the dragon started his lecture. "Wakfu, our world is steeped in. Forever, it flows. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter!"

"Mhm."

She shivered, but not because of cold. Sweat was trickling off Elely's back, not evaporating in the already saturated air. She could feel the storm coming.

Suddenly she felt a spear piercing her heart.

Elely woke on the moss underneath the tree, Adamai's white face hoovering over her like a full moon.

"Control" he said, tugging her hand. She let him pull her upright, shaking the spots away from her eyes.

"What was that?"

"Felt it, too, I have. A vision."

The dragon sat beside her. Elely pulled one knee up to her chin, staring into space.

"I sort of... saw a village. A large house in a village..."

"Your friends are there."

"And they..." she bit her lip. Adamain nodded gravely, and the iop jumped upright.

"Got to help them!"

The dragon pulled her back to her knees.

"And who's left to save the world then, hmm?"

She rubbed her forehead. "I still don't know what's so important for me to do, and when. They need me now!"

"Others will need you later" Adamai stated.


	10. Her dragoturkey snorted

Her dragoturkey snorted. Elely let go of its foot, thankfully free of thorns she'd been worried about, then reached for the saddle.

When a small tofu perched on her shoulder, the iop girl ruffled his feathers before placing him in the bag.

"I don't like this" said Goultard, who was leaning against a tree, arms folded.

"I know, master. I'm sorry."

"Irresponsible" Adamai grumbled behind her. Wordlessly, Elely buckled the saddle.

"Ely, it's the most dangerous time for you-"

"I'll be back, I promise" she said, turning away from her dragoturkey for a moment to look Goultard in the eye.

Adamai sighed heavily.

"Impatient. Injudicious..."

"Hey, thesaurus! She's a iop" the shushu map chortled. Elely pushed it into the bag and pulled it closed.

"I won't leave them. Can't."

"I understand, but if Echo-"

"If she destroys the world in the meantime, that's kind of moot point, right?" She smiled at him, but Goultard shook his head mournfully.

"The sooner I leave, the sooner I can be back" Elely said and hopped into the saddle.

"You won't even notice me gone! Y-ha!"

Goultard and Adamai watched the red head sink into the dark greenery. The dragon sighed.

"She was our last hope."

The rustle of branches was slowly fading.

"No" Goultard whispered. "There is another."

* * *

Alibert laughed a little.

"Yes, yes, you're right. But I made a deal to keep the Empire away."

He pushed the door and motioned for his guests to enter the back dining room. It had a large window that looked at the forest. Against the green they saw a hulking armour of shiny brass.

"We will be honoured if you join us" said Yugo. Casually leaning against the wall stood the masqueraider, hand on the hilt of his sword. On both sides of the door waited both technomages and Imperial officers.

"They came before you" said Alibert under his breath. "I had no choice..."

"You had no..." Rule punched him right in the jaw. Metal boots stomped.

* * *

Bolts clinked, hinges moaned, a blade of light pierced the dark. Narrowing her eyes, Sparrow scrambled to catch the cra as he was thrown in through the door. He hung limp in her arms like a rag doll.

The light flickered when Alibert went in, two foggernauts flanking him.

"I just wanted to say-"

"Spare us" muttered Ruel. He was busy scratching the plaster off a wall, apparently a very absorbing task.

"Yugo'll let you out. He's not after you, he's after somebody called Elely!"

"A trap" hissed Sparrow "and we're the bait?"

"Nice to have a buddy you can count on" Ruel stood up, wiping the dust from his hands, and the innkeeper stepped back.

"I have an entire town to think of!" He was standing in the doorway, a dark figure surrounded by light, so like Yugo that Sparrow had to look away.

"We understand" she spat "don't we, Ruel?"

"We understand completely."

"They came before you. I had no choice." Alibert left. The foggernauts slammed the door closed.

* * *

The main hall of the inn was full of foggernauts, silently seated at the tables, not eating, not drinking, not playing dice. Doing nothing. Nellith had already dusted and tidied up every single decorative trinket, some of them thrice. Finally, she gave up and scuttled away to the kitchen.

* * *

In the back of the inn, in one of the small dining rooms, count Harebourg was finishing his tea, looking askance at the masqueraider, who was leaning against the wall, a picture of patience. Scum, the count thought with distaste. We don't need them.

Yugo, who had employed the bounty hunter, stood by the window, his hands behind his back, still like a statue, not even noticing the visibly sweating innkeeper. Harebourg almost felt sorry for the man.

He put down his cup. The bearded enutrof winced.

"More tea, sir?" he hurried to the table, but at the same moment the door opened, letting a foggernaut in.

"Lord" he said "the iop girl is close."

Yugo turned, cloak billowing.

"Excellent" he said and nodded at Harebourg, who pushed his chair aside.

"My payment?" the masqueraider demanded. The technomage spared him a glance.

"You shall have it shortly. Harebourg?"

The count bowed. He followed the foggernaut and cloak-wearing masqueraider out of the room. The innkeeper, temporarily forgotten, trotted after them.

* * *

The three prisoners stood in front of the inn, squinting, perfectly aware they were surrounded by a troop of foggernauts.

"Begin with the enutrof" Yugo's voice thundered.

"What?" both the innkeeper and the young osamoda cried.

"You may take him at once" said the foggernaut and the masqueraider nodded, hand on the hilt of his sword. Harebourg stepped forward.

"No!" the girl screamed.

"That wasn't the deal!" the innkeeper shouted.

The young cra could only look, eyes wide in terror, at the ice growing over Ruel's body, at the astonished expression freezing on enutrof's face. The osamoda sobbed.

Harebourg nodded. "Done."

"That wasn't the deal" the innkeeper repeated under his breath, but two foggernauts hoisted the crystal of ice onto a small cart and handed the drawbar to the masqueraider, who walked away with a nod.

"Now the cra."

"No!" howled the osamoda. Before she could tackle the Sufokian count, Alibert caught her and held her in his strong embrace.

"What happens to Sparrow?" he asked calmly.

"For now she will stay here, in Emelka" Yugo's voice was neutral, he could have been talking about the weather just as well. "You will be personally responsible for her."

"Flopin!" the girl called.

The cra smiled at her. Helpless, she watched this smile vanish under a glistening layer of ice.

* * *

The dragoturkey came to a sudden stop. From her saddle bag there was an indignant twitter and several short, but sharp curses, but Elely paid them no attention. She slipped down to the ground.

"Changed your mind, nutter?" Grufon squeaked.

"No, we're already there."

Az scrambled out of the bag and perched at the pommel, shaking his head.

They stood on top of a small hill, shadowed by the last trees of the Sadida forest. In front of them, soaked in the golden syrup of sunlight, a grassy plain spread, and there were pretty little houses all round, with white walls and blue roofs.

"So, what are you waiting for?" the shushu asked.

"Awfully empty" she muttered, shielding her eyes with her hand. She could see a large building with a tower and a huge wooden mug hanging from the wall, and further away, on the road to the sea, something shining in the sun. She ignored it. In front of the house with the tower there was a familiar glint of brass.

* * *

Sparrow tugged once more, before going limp in Alibert's arms when the ice crystal vanished behind the hill. Yugo had sent most of the foggernauts along with Harebourg and... Flopin... to his ship. Now he was standing, arms akimbo, his back to the leaden-hearted osamoda.

Suddenly dragoturkey paws thudded in the distance. Sparrow straightened.

"Elely! It's a trap!"

The iop leaped off her mount, landing in the grass, her sword pointed at the foggernaut's metal breast.

"En garde!" she yelled. Sparrow was shouting something, somewhere close. Elely blew her ginger fringe off her eye. The technomage barked a laugh, which sounded like a distant thunder.

"Inside" he ordered his soldiers. A blue wakfu sword glinted in his hand.

Elely charged at the brass goliath, but her strike was deflected, sent her reeling. The opponent just stood there. If he had a mouth, he'd be smirking, she was sure. She attacked, yelling. Yugo parried casually.

* * *

Inside the inn two foggernauts were trying to contain a struggling osamoda.

"Let go!" Sparrow kicked a metal shin. With a very loud clash. The other technomage let go of her arm so suddenly that Sparrow fell to the floor, and the foggernaut fell beside her.

"You okay?" Alibert adjusted his grip on the shovel before outstretching his free hand towards Sparrow. She stood up on her own, eyes firmly fixed on the man. She nudged the felled foggernaut with her foot.

"Nellith!"

The cat ran into the room, looked around and nodded.

* * *

Elely was spinning, dodging, leaping. Attacking her opponent. But the blue blade, seemingly immobile, kept appearing between her sword and the brass armour.

"Your master has taught you well" Yugo said off-handedly. Elely's heart burned with anger. She charged at the purple cloud.

Her sword flew out of her hand.

The iop jerked away. Her back hit the ground, beating the air out of her lungs.

She rolled, grabbed the sword, jumped upright. Spat out a strand of hair. The stasis in Yugo's head sparkled.

"Impressive. Most impressive."

"You ain't seen nothing yet" Elely grinned.

* * *

By the inn's window a saddled dragoturkey was shifting its weight. On it's head a small yellow tofu was hopping and twittering madly.

"Az!" Sparrow gathered her dress, but Nellith pushed a stool towards her. The osamoda shot her a suspicious look.

"Is this a trick?" she asked matter-of-factly. The ecaflip shrugged.

"The Empire was supposed to leave my village alone" said Alibert, walking up to them "if I turned you in."

Sparrow steadied herself on the sill. "And you believed them?"

The innkeeper took off his chief's hat and tossed it aside. Nellith handed him a bag.

One eye still on them, the osamoda clicked her tongue and leaned out of the window to grab at the dragoturkey's reins.

* * *

Elely backed out onto the verandah stairs. Wakfu sword swung inches from her stomach.

Wedged between the wall of the house and the railing, the foggernaut couldn't even turn, but he was walking towards the iop, step by thundering step.

Her back hit the wall. Wakfu glinted.

She parried and dashed aside, onto the railing. Before Yugo could react, she leaped up to the roof.

* * *

"Run!" Alibert yelled. From every house people emerged.

* * *

Something clinked under her foot and Elely felt herself sliding down the roof. In the last moment she caught at the ridge and hauled herself up, panting.

Corner of her eye, she saw a blue glint. A cold metal hand seized her arm, pulled her onto the chimney. She jerked, but the foggernaut was holding fast.

"You do not know your importance" Yugo rumbled. Elely froze.

"You can destroy Echo. She has foreseen this."

"Flattery will get you nowhere" hissed the iop.

"Join me" the foggernaut said, but she planted her feet on the ridge and yanked out of his grip.

"Never!"

"Elely..."

"Who do you think I am?" her short sword spun.

"The daughter of Tristepin, Tristepin whom his friends betrayed."

"Don't try these games" a tile wobbled underneath her foot. "I know you've killed him."

"Killed?" Yugo laughed, a short, bitter chuckle. "Is this what Goultard told you?"

Elely's mouth went very hard and thin. She was staring at the foggernaut, squinting.

"No, Elely. Your father, if he still lives, is trapped in Shukrute. And Goultard is the one to send him there."

"You're lying" she growled.

"I saw it happen."

"No!" she charged. There was a blue flash.

* * *

The inhabitants of Emelka crowded around the dragoturkey. Sparrow held the reins firmly, stroking the animal's neck and muttering soothing nonsense, but Nellith, who sat behind her, suddenly gasped.

"What? What's wrong?" The osamoda looked over her shoulder.

On the roof of the inn a small, slight, very red-headed iop rushed at a huge foggernaut. There was a blue flash. The iop swayed, fell onto her knees. Tiles slid off the roof.

Sparrow stood straight in the stirrups, closed her eyes, whispered a fervent prayer.

The wind kissed her cheek. Bird's screech cut through the air.

"Raven!" yelled Nellith. Sparrow opened her eyes. The black bird caught Elely and flew into the clouds. The osamoda pulled dragoturkey's reins.

"After him!" she moved through the crowd.

* * *

Sparks shot into the black sky when a tired cat-girl threw a rag into the fire.

Beside her, an osamoda looked up. The firelight drew deep, trembling shadows under her eyes.

With a nod, the ecaflip rose, wiping her hands. The osamoda took her place, kneeling by the provisional bed made of branches and vines. She stroked the hand of the person sleeping in the bed, a pale iop girl.

From the darkness, a huge moustachioed man emerged, carrying two pails of water. The ecaflip busied herself with a filled cauldron, hanging it over the fire.

Tied by the nearby tree, a dragoturkey roared sadly. Stars were twinkling above.


	11. The young iop Elely has come to Brakmar

_The young iop Elely has come to Brakmar in an attempt to rescue her friend, Ruel Stroud, from the clutches of his creditor, the vile gangster Adelai._

 _Little does she know that the Rebellion, led by lady Evangelyne, as well as the imperial forces of Echo are preparing for the final battle. Soon the fate of the free peoples in the World of Twelve shall be decided..._

Sound of the chimes was muffled by a velvety hand. The girl looked over her shoulder. All she saw in the darkness were silhouettes of the other girls, asleep on the cushions, and several bigger ones, the guests who couldn't be bothered to find their rooms. Against the narrow slit of a window, his back pressed to the wall, a guard was snoring.

She listened for a while. Then, slowly, carefully stepping over the ecaflips' fluffy tails and discarded shawls, the girl approached. The guard, a broad-shouldered iop, spotted with pale moonlight that flowed in through the latticed window. He was clutching a halberd. His breath was even and deep. Keys glistened silvery at the guard's belt, and her bracelet clanked against them. The girl withdrew quickly, but he only sighed in his sleep.

* * *

On the list of places Sparrow would like to go to, this one was definitely the last, long behind interiors of volcanoes and bowels of dragons.

The great hall of Adelai's palace, its walls so thick it was cold in there even at high noon, gilded to the ceiling, filled with iops in guards uniforms, courtiers and girls who stared at her emptily, tiredly.

"Nothing's changed" she muttered. Alibert pushed her forwards. It wasn't a strong push, but very sudden, and Sparrow nearly fell in between two couches. There were ecaflip women lounging on them, and they barely even looked at her. Sparrow only noticed how little they were wearing, not counting the jewellery that caught and multiplied every single speck of light. She swallowed.

"Move" Alibert growled, then pushed her again. The osamoda hung her head and allowed him to lead her among the couches and cushions, up to the wide steps to the dais.

An eye-watering mosaic of crystals and gold served as a background for a huge armchair in which Adelai lounged, exactly the same as Sparrow remembered him. He might have gained a little weight, but with what he already had, it was hard to tell. Peeking from among rolls of fat, his small eyes glistened as he saw the osamoda. She stumbled and nearly fell, only caught by Alibert.

Adelai nodded at a lean, greying ecaflip in a loose silk tunic, and he strutted up to them, but the enutrof held her arm like a vice.

"I hear there's a reward for this one" he growled before the majordomo opened his mouth. Adelai laughed a low, stomach-churning guffaw.

"Atta boy!"

"Reward?"

The old, fat enutrof rose. Swallow instinctively moved back, colliding with her guard.

"Be so kind and remember whose house you're in" said Adelai. He caught Sparrow's chin with a cold hand to turn her face to the light. Corner of her eye, she saw a huge iop by the wall, and a huge sword in his hand, but Alibert's hand stayed where it was.

"I have brought back a lost member of this household" the ex-innkeeper said calmly.

"Surely, not out of the goodness of your heart."

"Enutrof the Great has commanded us to seek gain anywhere and everywhere."

Adelai finally let Sparrow go.

"You don't look very devoted" he clapped his fleshy hands "but you're right. Take her to the girls' quarters" he ordered a slight caramel-coloured ecaflip who stepped out from behind a curtain. The cat curtsied before taking Sparrow's hand. As she was being led aside, the osamoda heard Adelai say "You'll have to wait till the evening, boy, for that's when I make my business. My treasury is sacred!"

* * *

"How far?" Sparrow hissed. Nellith clucked her tongue in reprimand.

"He's at the end of this corridor. It was impractical, holding him in the fridge" she continued "and he was still all shaky when I saw him. But don't worry, he's fine."

She stood on her tiptoes to get a small, grey bundle out of a tiny nook between the stone blocks in the wall. She handed it to Sparrow. It was metal-hard.

"The key" she said.

"I'd rather do this my way" muttered osamoda.

"Not every problem can be solved by summoning giant birds."

"It has solved several large problems" Sparrow snapped. These stone walls were grating on her nerves.

"You have to go to the back entrance" Nellith said "they'll be waiting there. Alibert and I will join you in Bonta. Here."

They were standing in front of a sturdy oak door. The osamoda looked nervously around the empty corridor, the cat nodded.

* * *

The door creaked. Ruel didn't look up, busy scrubbing at the mortar of the wall with a small stone. A couple of days before he had calculated that it would take about a thousand years to get through to his freedom that way, so he had no time for trivialities.

"Stroud!"

The stone fell out of enutrof's fingers.

"Sparrow? Are you crazy? What are you doing here?"

"Can we do this later?" an ecaflip hissed, the cute one, whose name Ruel's forgotten. She was standing behind Sparrow, looking over her shoulder. The enutrof slid off his cot.

"Hey!" Sparrow caught his hand before he managed to tap her sternum which was as good a confirmation as any that he was not seeing things.

"Let's go" she said. The old enutrof grinned.

* * *

The kitty, her costume jewellery (come on!) clanking, went before them, lantern in hand, showing the way to Sparrow, who held Ruel, like he was a sack of gold, utterly disregarding his protests. He could walk on his own! He wasn't an invalid!

"I can walk" he hissed for a thousandth time, and suddenly froze. Sparrow nearly fell over.

"What's wrong?"

"Did you see? Hey, kitty, give us light!"

The ecaflip turned. "No time!"

But Ruel, the weight of a girl on his arm almost forgotten, was already on his way towards the glint of gold in a side corridor. Here it was again. Definitely a coinage metal.

"Get this lamp here" he growled. Sparrow kicked his shin, tugged at his sleeve, nearly tore it off, but he didn't care. The gold was too tempting.

Ruel went forward to be doubly disappointed. First of all, the glint turned out to be brass, turned golden by the lamplight. And second of all, above the gold-coloured sheet of tin there was a large nose and a troglodyte face, with a tuft of red hair on top. The tin-clad sentry held a sword, a wide, sharp, quality blade that was unnervingly close to Ruel's bellybutton.

"Err... I'm selling these fine leather jackets" the enutrof said with a grin.

* * *

"Only today! One-time occasion!" the street crier yelled in a shabby little square in front of an inn.

"Unique opportunity for entertainment! Come see the terrible beast from the deep devour Stroud the traitor! Entrance: ten kamas! Onl-ugh!"

The hooded whoever-it-was ran straight into him. They pulled the crier up, but before he saw their face, the person was already gone among the dark alleys. On reflex, he checked his belt, but the pouch remained where it was supposed to be. Odd.

"Adelai throws his debtor to the kralove!"

* * *

"Could be worse" sighed Sparrow. Ruel, his eyebrows so high they very nearly flew off, moved his hand, and the chain clinked solemnly.

"I'd rather end up in kralove's maw, than in Adelai's palace" the osamoda shrugged, invisible anyway in the dark inside of the coach.

"Smartass."

"Maybe this will teach you to stay away from shinies."

"Sassy much? Who got you out the last time? Eh?"

With a sigh, Sparrow leaned against the wooden wall.

"Sides, bit late to learn stuff now."

"You'll be surprised" she whispered.

"Huh?"

"We've got everything planned. Stay close."

* * *

The hastily-built amphitheatre would creak when someone as much as looked at it funny. Alibert did his best to stay motionless, hands clenched on his knees, leaning slightly forwards to follow a small dark shape with his eyes. The coach disappeared behind the rugged rocks of brakmarian coast, then came back out.

Suddenly the enutrof realised someone was asking him a question, stressing the words so much they nearly cried.

"Excuse me?"

"Patience" said Adelai with a knowing smile. Alibert would rather not think about what the gangster knew. In the corner of his eye he was still watching the coach roll infuriatingly slowly towards them. Then his gaze shifted to the platform, built on the edge of a black hole that had something moving in it. He could swear he saw a tentacle.

"Something to drink?" Nellith, decoratively draped with a bit of golden cloth, nudged him, not really accidentally. Alibert gave her a stiff nod and the cat handed him a cup of punch.

Finally, the carriage stopped by the platform, amongst cheers from the spectators. Enutrof watched the familiar masqueraider hop off the perch and bow with a flourish before a small figure swathed in a black, hooded cloak, who was waiting for the two prisoners. The executioner slid their hard over the coach door which opened, revealing first a slim osamoda, then a chain she dragged after her, and finally an old enutrof, his beard tousled. They stood arm in arm. The executioner turned towards the crowd and in one motion threw the hood of her head.

Silence fell.

"And here's where I'd like to end the play!" the iop announced, throwing her cloak aside. Blindingly white tunic shone underneath it.

"Adelai! This is your last chance! Free my friends!"

The gangster's roar of laughter shouldn't have been a surprise.

"Well, I'll be! A little iop girl! Not even armed! Guards!" the mafioso bellowed, just over the enutrof's ear. The former mayor of Emelka had wet hands, as if he'd been just washing dishes. Tense, he stared at the masqueraider walking up to the red-headed iop.

She whistled out loud. A tiny yellow flash - and Elely was holding a sword.

* * *

Sparrow pulled the chain to trip the masqueraider, who crashed onto the boards. Music to her ears.

"How are we doing?" she asked. Elely, in a graceful pirouette, parried two large swords.

"Same as always!"

"That bad, huh?" mumbled Ruel. The iop had pushed the key into his hands. Now he was trying to wring them far enough to get to the lock on his manacles, ignoring Az, who sat on his shoulder, chattering. When a blade swished over the enutrof's head, the tofu seized the moment and the key. Then he opened the lock.

* * *

Alibert's hands clenched on the wooden railing. He didn't hear the roar of Brakmarians, yells, whistles, cheering. He didn't see pumping fists and thrown small objects. His gaze flitted from Elely, whirling and dancing, to Ruel, who started whacking the guards with his chain as soon as his hands were free. But on the wooden platform, undulating like an asp, a blueish tentacle slithered.

"Watch out!" he yelled, but the tentacle wrapped itself around Elely's leg.

Behind Alibert's back a girl screamed. He spun and felt his blood freeze.

"Adelai..."

The mafioso was gripping Nellith's arm. By the feet of the struggling girl there lied Alibert's spade.

"Little snake" the Brakmarian hissed. "I thought you were up to something, moustache-man. And that's your accomplice, is she? Got her to back you up on site, or had she been a plant all along?"

Nellith wheezed. She kicked the spade at Alibert, who picked it up never looking away from Adelai's beady eyes.

"I think, mister Adelai" he hissed "you can keep the money."

* * *

Sparrow stomped at the tentacle that was pulling Elely towards the edge. Az attacked it with his beak, the iop - with her sword.

"Like it's glued!" howled the osamoda. Elely thudded to the boards, pulled relentlessly.

With a scream she lounged forwards and hit her head on something that snorted and jumped over her.

The tentacle let go suddenly, as if it was cut. Elely rolled as far away as she could before looking behind her, at a mask that was rolling to a stop.

"Elely! " Nellith's soft hands caught hers, pulled her up.

"No need" the iop muttered. She looked around. Az was twittering, perched among Sparrow's white hair. The two enutrofs, back to back, stood with their spades ready over a huge pile that she realised was made out of those dumb guards.

The galleries were shaking from the crowd's cheer.

"Let's get our of here" she said. A belch echoed from underneath the wooden platform.

* * *

They parted ways at the edge of the city. The enutrofs, Sparrow and Nellith were walking to the nearby Pandalusia, where lady Evangelyne, along with queen Daihitsu and the Free Sadidan allies were preparing their armies. Elely, along with her faithful friend Az, took the zaap network into the heart of the Sadida jungle, carrying the news to Goultard and Adamai.


	12. A black-gloved hand

A black-gloved hand wiped a clear smudge in the rough frost. Somewhere deep in the ice there was a glint of green and pale linen.

"Happy coincidences are to be made use of" the woman said softly before turning. "Rise!" she ordered.

The hulking foggernaut who knelt before her stood up, very slowly, as if he was finding his own brass body too heavy.

"Maybe we'll yet be able to turn your incompetence to our gain, Yugo" said the Empress. Meticulously, she brushed the ice crystals off her palms.

"The girl is a iop, through and through. She is sure to come to her friend's rescue, and to do this, she'll have to come here."

She sent a licorice-sweet smile to the frozen boy.

"We will have a chance to reason with her. Maybe the young man would help her see how well we mean?"

"Lady?"

"I hope you can avoid another mistake" the Empress said, drumming her fingers on the ice.

* * *

Elely jumped out of the zaap and steadied herself on the stone wall, to wait for her stomach to stop somersaulting. From the bag across her shoulder came a steady sting of twittered birdy curses.

"Shouldn't have eaten my trail mix before we left" she told him, straightening up.

Sparing no thought, she took one of the half-ruined corridors, one hand resting on the hilt of her sword, the other on her bag, skirting the spots of pink sunlight.

It turned dark before she got out of the labyrinth. Only the bonfire was glowing, just like it had been, casting its raspberry-syrup glow on the rocks, on dragon's glinting scales and the hunched, broad-shouldered figure.

Elely walked up and simply plonked onto the grass beside Goultard.

"Hi" she said.

"Hello, Ely."

He didn't even look at her. The iop snorted her bangs off her nose. "Well?"

"Waiting for a fanfare?" Adamai barked. "You endanger-"

"The Empress knows something, Ely" Goultard cut in. "We got news about her armies gathering."

"Ah, that" the iop opened her bag to fish out a slightly worse-for-the-wear tofu and put it by the fire. "I know that. Lady Evangelyne and the Pandawas are getting ready to counter it."

Her mentors shared glances.

"What?"

Goultard shook his head.

"It's a change, Ely. Maybe we should-"

"Rescue my father?"

The male iop blinked. Elely added "Or weren't you going to?"

"Ely-"

"I heard" she looked him straight into the eye "It's your fault he's in Shukrute."

That finally got to him and he sat up straight.

"Your father went to Shukrute" said Goultard calmly "to destroy Echo's power source. I helped, but it was his decision."

Elely raised her eyebrow. The fire shot sparks, but Goultard never even twitched.

"Okay" Elely said, after a while "but it was years ago. Guess he could use help."

Goultard nodded, but Adamai said, with authority "You're not ready."

"Time's running out, you know?"

"Have you still got the sword I gave you?" Goultard asked, softly.

"Always. Why?"

The master reached out. Elely hesitated a little before she handed him the sword.

"It's a shushu blade" he said. She couldn't keep the snort back.

"It was a shushu blade" Goultard explained. "Your father was its guardian."

Fire glowed on the metal edge.

"He let it out?"

"That was an unusual shushu."

Adamai muttered something about iop stupidity, and Goultard added, with a slight smile "But don't tell him I said it. They went to Shukrute together."

"Are they still there? Looking for the source?"

"Or they've found it and are trying to destroy it."

"Or Rubilax got rid of Dally a long time ago and is doing whatever he wants" growled the dragon.

"Anyway, the empress's power depends on something in Shukrute, and we can't wait any more. This sword used to hold Rubilax's being, it'll always be tied to him. It'll help you find him."

Elely nodded.

"There's another problem..."

* * *

Leaders of the Rebellion were gathered in the great hall of Daihitsu's palace. Some sat on cushions, some milled about among the columns with historical scenes painted on them. Some were talking, their voices hushed. On one end of the hall, on a dais, stood a throne magnificently carved from age-blackened wood. The hostess, sprawled in it, was watching lady Evangelyne and a Sadidan woman, her green hair pinned up in an elaborate crown braid. They were so deep in conversation, they never even noticed it when Sparrow and Nellith came in. Alibert, leaning on a pillar, nudged the Sadidan gently.

"Here we are, all of us" the Pandalusian queen rose with surprising grace. Evangelyne and her friend joined her on the dais.

"The Imperial forces are preparing for an attack" the Sadidan spoke. The last murmurs quieted.

"Their fleet is directly endangering Bonta, the key to our entire archipelago."

She bowed her head before continuing, with sincere sadness "Many bontarians have died to bring us the information on this attack. Master Joris."

The woman moved back, allowing a small man on the dais. From underneath his deep hood a sharp nose jutted out.

"We must strike first" Joris said. There was a glint of his eyes underneath the hood. "And we must strike immediately. Our spies found several gaps in Echo's security. A small group will be able to get into her palace.

Nellith folded her arms. "I don't like this." she whispered.

"According to our sources, the empress draws her power from an artefact. We do not know where it is hidden, but her palace seems like a logical place."

Joris looked around.

"Our soldiers will divert Echo's attention, keep her army close to Bonta. In the meantime, the volunteers will go to the palace."

"Volunteers?" muttered Alibert. "That's crazy."

"Miss Sparrow" Joris's piercing gaze turned to the osamoda, who curtsied. "Are you ready?"

"My friend Ruel is finishing with the packing. I'd like to take some more people..."

She bit her lip. Nellith stroked her shoulder. "I'll go. Someone has to cover the old skinflint's eyes before he sees Echo's treasury."

Alibert clicked his tongue.

"I'll regret this... But I can't let you go without me."

* * *

Goultard closed the grating behind him. From around the corner, Adamai hissed "Coast's clear", and the iop nodded.

"Let's go" shaking himself off, he joined the dragon, who looked him over with puritan disdain. They went on, steadily. Adamai's claws tapped the floor, slicing the silence into moments.

They entered the throne room by a side door. Goultard hissed a breath.

Where the throne should be, there was a sparkling lump of ice. Lamplight smudged its surface, never reaching a dark silhouette suspended inside. Iop made a step towards it.

"I wasn't expecting you" Echo slid out from behind the ice, one thin hand on her hip. Theatrically she shrugged, looking at Goultard.

"But, well. A iop is a iop."

His fists clenched. Adamai growled "You had the courage to face us alone?"

Metal boots clanked on the floor. There was a barely audible groan from the dragon.

"You're bold" boomed Yugo.

"You know us" Goultard tossed his dreadlocks back carelessly, but Adamai whispered "It's not too late yet."

Everyone's gaze went to the dragon who cleared his throat and said, louder "Can't you see what that woman made of you?"

A metal heel sparked on the floor.

"She? Did she... brother!?"

* * *

Fluffy pompom hugged her cheek when Elely, trying to breathe as quietly as possible, pressed her back to a stone. Underneath the brick-red sky, beyond the edge of a cliff she could almost feel, there was an ash-grey plain, scattered with dark craters and sharp black rocks. Perpendicular to the horizon a pale line jutted into the sky, like a giant claw mark.

Iop's sensitive ear caught a clatter of sliding stones. Az's claws pierced her shoulder.

She wasn't afraid of the shushu currently rummaging among the rocks, of course she wasn't. She just really hoped it would go and let her on her way!

Elely's fingers clenched on the hilt of her sword. By the way of experiment she moved her foot, but the bits of stones that covered the ground positively chimed.

"I can hear you!" the shushu singsonged. The girl instinctively pressed herself against the wall. A black shape swished before her. Then she heard a snap and a racket of something heavy that fell, puff pelt, into a stone river.

She hurried away from it, searching for a better way down to the plain.

The scratch on the sky seemed sort of wider. Elely stared at it, narrowing her eyes.

"What do you think?" she muttered, but Az just hid among her hair with a chirp. She stroked him.

"My hero" she said, warmly.

The tofu's twittered protest echoed out loud.

"All right, all right, so maybe I ran" she sighed. "Took me by surprise. I'll be more careful now."

The rocks cast long, ink-black shadows. Az burst into twitters whenever he saw one, but Elely was a iop. Not a one to hide in the dark. She walked on, mechanically stroking the tofu and trying not to breathe the ashen, bitter dust that billowed into the air with her every step.

She went towards the pale scratchy thing, because there wasn't anything else here to head towards, just shapeless rocks and dust, and jagged mountains around, like the edges of a cracked bowl. No interesting, piwi-shaped rocks or anything. The most boring mountain range ever.

Az chirped nervously.

"Your imagination" Elely said. She perched on a cavity in the nearest rock's edge, put her bag by her side and pulled out her water flask. The tofu chittered, sullen.

"It's for me."

She only took a sip (because she's had Goultard's speech memorised, the one about water, lack of, and necessity to save it, and so on). Then, with a sigh, she rested her elbows on the rock. Az whistled.

Like spilled oil, a black shadow crawled up to Elely's feet. She pulled them up onto her stone perch, but in doing so, tipped her bag. A bun fell out and into the blackness.

It burst into a million crumbs and vanished.

"Iop..." Elely moaned, staring at the oily darkness. There were tiny, ragged ripples running over its surface, and then a yellow eye blinked at the stunned iop before sinking into the black.

"Hey! Shushu!" yelled Elely, but the black stuff only slushed on the rock. Az twittered softly.

"Hey, I can talk to them!" the girl snorted. She wedged herself safely into her place on the rock, cleared her throat and shouted "Oi!"

More eyes blinked at her from the tar than she'd care to count. Elely flinched, reflexively, and her flask slid out of the unfastened bag.

"No!" she squeaked, but it already fell among the black ripples. They buzzed like a whole nest of wasps. The iop felt cold sweat on her neck.

"You..."

Az burst out twittering, but she grabbed her sword, not even noticing it was warm, as if left in the sun for too long.

"Fight like men!"

And she slid off the rock.

* * *

The gathered armies of Pandalusia and the Rebels under the command of Sadidan king marched towards the Empire-occupied Amakna. At the same time Sparrow and her companions got into the capital and into the Empress's palace.

* * *

Goultard and Adamai bumped into each other's backs. The iop parried a stasis ball into the ceiling, creating a shower of sparks. He heard a woman's laugh ring behind the ice.

"Ad" Goultard growled, but the dragon dashed at her, breathing fire. The floor tiles started cracking from the heat and billows of steam hid the walls, hid Echo with her mocking laughter, hid the shine of foggernaut's brass armour.

"Adamai!" the iop yelled. The fire went out suddenly.

On the fogged black floor a blonde, slim cra was lying, motionless. Goultard parried Yugo's strike before dashing to the boy's help.

"So sweet-"

Echo started. Flopin moaned, but his eyes stayed closed. Adamai shielded them both from a ball of stasis.

"I'm through with this visit" the iop said, pulling Flopin more or less up. Somewhere near, in the corridors, boots trampled.

"Well, we do not need you any more" purred Echo.

"Nor you two, nor the cra" she added, licorice-sweetly. She nodded her hand at Yugo, who stepped up. A blue spark encircled the iop and the dragon.

The portal closed just as Sparrow ran into the room.

* * *

Cold. Horrible, horrible cold. He felt like all his joints were frozen. If he moved, the ice inside would crack. His limbs were too heavy to try, in any case.

Something hot nudged his arm, but only briefly.

"Boy" he barely heard the voice through the snow stuffed in his ears. Then the burning hot thing touched him again and Flopin leaned into it with all his will.

"Very good. Try opening your eyes."

His eyelids were frozen stiff. He really tried. Nothing.

"You can do it" the voice said. Warmth moved up and down on the cra's arm.

"Goultard: said another voice suddenly. The warmth went away. Flopin shuddered. He tried to open his eyes again, feeling the ice crack. There was a wall of blackness in front of him.

* * *

"Waah!" Elely squeaked. She tumbled in the air and hit gravel with her shoulder. Really hard and prickly gravel.

"Owww..."

A familiar hand caught hers and pulled her up.

"Ow! Careful, okay?" the iop blew her red fringe off her eyes. She wasn't in the least surprised to see Goultard, even though her mentor's smile was, Elely thought, much too wide in the circumstances. Az shot into the iop's nest of dreadlocks and burrowed in there, breathless.

"What are you doing here?"

"Serving penance" Adamai growled "for your playing with shushu."

Elely pressed a giggle back with her hand.

"What happened? Have you lost a-" she trailed off, because on the grey pebbles behind Goultard there lied, shivering, a cra in a wet green tunic. He opened his eyes to look at her, or maybe behind her. Hard to tell.

She pushed Goultard aside.

"Flopin!"

" E… Ele-l-ly?"

She fell onto her knees to gather him up and he coughed jerkily.

"There, there. Like hugging a kralove" she rubbed at his back, and the boy giggled. Or coughed.

"Where... are we?"

"Good question" the iop looked over her shoulder. "This white thing, what is it?"

Goultard, who knelt beside her, said "Our goal."

The white scratch spread along half of the sky. It seemed to come out of the top of the craggy rock they were sitting on. A good couple of minutes of climbing. Elely now saw she's landed on a sort of an island among a sea of grey sand. A wave of squeaking shushu crashed at the gravel beach.

Adamai spat some fire at them, causing the tiny demons to back out, but they were back again instantly.

"Have we got any fuel?" asked Elely. She was all wet herself from Flopin's dripping tunic.

"No time" Goultard stood up, then helped the shivering cra to his feet. Craning his head, he looked at the summit.


	13. See? It's cracking!

"See? It's cracking!"

"Will you stop saying that?" his friend barked. He rammed into the wall with his short, dull horns, bounced back and swore "Rushu take it!"

The wall stood unmoved, but he giggled, never ceasing to attack the smooth surface "Good idea, Rubi."

"Yeah. Did I tell you this piwi story? The one that was sharpening-"

"Ugh" the rock he was using to hit the wall wore down so much the next strike he shoved his fingernails into it. With a hiss, he put his hand into his mouth, reaching for a new one with the other.

"Uhm" without looking, he rummaged in the stones at the wall's feet. They clinkered.

"Just checking if you remember" said Rubi.

"Ha! This one's good!"

"So, the piwi-"

Before he started, he grinned at Rubilax.

"I remember. Cool bird, huh?"

* * *

"Hush" Elely stopped all of a sudden, aiming her finger at the sky.

"What?"

"Quiet! Can't you hear?"

A rock slid with a clink. The iop girl waved her hand at her companions. Az twittered from his place among Goultard's dreadlocks.

"We're nearly there" Adamai said behind the iop's back. Flopin, leaning on Goultard's arm, swallowed the dry dust in his throat and silently cursed the foggernauts for taking his crossbow. Elely ran a little ahead. She vanished behind a rock.

The cra had been hearing this rhythm, the even beats, for a while now, and only just realised the others could hear it, too. It wasn't in his head. He tensed, but Goultard evidently didn't think the thrumming was something dangerous, since he followed Elely, pulling Flopin along. Skirting stones, they got to the flat summit. Elely stood there, staring at the pillar of white, glowy mist.

"Ely?"

The rhythm stopped suddenly.

From behind the girl a creature looked at him, as bulky and grey as the rocks around. His face seemed reptilian, with stumpy horns above it. His gaze slid over Elely, then Goultard, and he gave an exaggerated sigh. But his companion, a very dusty iop, jumped over his head. Before the young cra knew it, he was being hugged fiercely, along with both the redheads.

"Kids!" the new iop said. "You've grown!"

"Hi" Goultard laughed breathlessly.

Elely, wedged between him and Flopin, could only grunt.

"What?" she managed.

The grey dragonish thing rolled his eyes.

"Grown, but not wiser. Just like her dad."

"Yup, my little girl" the iop moved back a little, smiling as if he shot a tofu in flight. His grey-brown eyes were positively sparkling as he looked at gasping Elely, then at Flopin.

"But you're more like your mum" he said, his smile incredibly soppy.

"Erm, so I keep hearing."

The iop was bowstring thin, he had deep shadows underneath his eyes, but he was definitely happy to see them.

"Have you accomplished anything?" Adamai ruined the mood.

The iop rubbed his neck, while his companion said "What were you expecting?"

"Don't tell me you've been hitting this thing with rocks all the time."

Adamai slid his paw over the smooth surface, before turning to look at the iop, who was whistling some strange little melody, hands behind his back. The dragon sighed and shook his head.

"What were you expecting?" Rubi asked again.

"Wait, come on" Elely stepped forwards "who are you two and what are we doing here?"

This wiped the smile off the iop's face.

"You don't remember me? Elely?"

"Ely..." Flopin saw them, face to face, and understood.

"It's been a couple of years" cut in Goultard, and Adamai muttered "Priorities, Dally."

"You are..." for a moment Elely stared at Dally, mouth open.

Then she glomped him.

The iop stroked her back.

"There. There, Elely. Don't cry."

"I'm not crying" Elely sobbed.

"Hush, it's all right, come on. I hope you two have been taking care of mum?"

The girl sniffled, but her father was looking at Flopin now "How is she?"

"Huh? My mum is fine, but-"

"We decided to separate you, just in case" Goultard explained.

Elely pulled away from her father, hand rubbing at her reddened eyes, walked up to her mentor and kicked his shin as strongly as she could. He reeled.

Flopin sat heavily on the gravel. At the feet of the hill, the black mass of shushu still seethed.

* * *

"All this time?"

Elely squeezed her father's hand. They all were sitting on rocks around the column of white, only Adamai tried to scratch it with one claw.

Rubilax shrugged. "Couldn't come back."

"But twelve years of hitting rocks..."

"It was something to do" said Dally cheerfully.

Adamai snorted. He stepped away from the wall to breathe some fire at it.

"See? Ad thinks so."

"I'll... melt... it..."

The young cra looked down at the churning mass of shushu among the rocks.

"What's behind this wall?" he asked suddenly.

* * *

The whip snaked around a brass wrist. Sparrow pulled with all her might, and in result was dragged to the foggernaut's feet. Before she could scream, however, a card swished through the air. It stuck to the technomage's dome, allowing Sparrow to get to her feet and run into safety.

Alibert and Ruel were less lucky. The two enutrofs avoided the bolts of stasis, but none of them came within a shovel's distance of Yugo. Alibert tried, a couple of times, to attack the Empress, who was watching from her throne, as if their fight was a play, acted out for her amusement - but the foggernaut portalled him away every time.

There was a ringing laughter.

Nellith lobbed a card at the Empress, but what she hit was Ruel's shovel. They both swore.

* * *

"If you don't know what's there, how do you know destroying the wall will rid us of Echo?"

"Cause the last time she defended it like her own skin" shrugged Goultard.

"We had to think long and hard to get here" Dally cut in, but Rubilax's guffaw echoed off the rocks.

The iop brushed his red fringe aside. "Well, then" he said brightly "let's get on with it?"

Elely jumped to her feet, but Flopin propped his elbow on a rock behind him to look down at the shushu.

"Listen, we want to destroy the wall, right?"

Except for Adamai, who was staring at the wall like it could catch fire from his gaze, everyone looked at the young cra. He cleared his throat. "Elely, how many things have you got in your bag?"

* * *

Foggernauts had emptied Flopin's pockets months earlier. Goultard only had his sword and his trousers (which Elely told him, in no uncertain words, to keep), and Rubilax didn't even have that. Elely's bag held a couple of buns, a wrinkly api, a whetstone and a very thin money pouch. Adamai contributed his tunic and straw hat, Dally gave up his cloak, which was threadbare anyhow.

They laid all these things on the path.

"Maybe it's too far?" Elely said, perusing the wavy black and trying very hard not to see the tiny eyes glinting in it.

"Hmm" Flopin picked up the api and reached out as far as he could over the black mass.

The eyes blinked.

The mass slushed.

Api sank in it as if in treacle.

Elely pulled the slightly reeling cra away.

"I'm fine" he said, rubbing his wrist.

"Shame we don't have any more apis" muttered Adamai.

"Wait..." Elely's hand went to her sword.

She walked to the shore, holding it before her.

"Kiddo!" Rubilax called "It's not a sponge!"

"It held you" she stuck the sword into the blackness, but nothing happened. At all. Maybe a glint of reproach in the little eyes, but she might have imagined that. "You've had a good idea" said Dally in a conciliatory tone.

Elely, with a sigh, pulled the sword out. The blade was covered with black ooze. When the iop squinted, she could see hundreds of tiny, ghostly hands clawing at metal, turning it into grey dust as she looked.

"Ha!"

She ran to the summit and shoved the sword into the ground, right at the feet of the wall.

* * *

Sparrow dodged a portal. She really hoped Evangelyne and the Pandawas were doing better, although it wouldn't be very hard - Ruel, after falling through several portals, was lying by the wall, rag-doll limp, guarded by breathless Nellith. The osamoda's back bumped into something big. She jumped with a squeak, and so did Alibert, if his scream wasn't so high-pitched.

The Empress laughed sharply.

Sparrow had an urge to throw a shoe at her.

"Yugo!" Alibert yelled. "I know there is good in you! The Empress hasn't driven it from you fully!"

The foggernaut turned from the hissing Nellith.

The enutrof lowered his shovel, looking straight into the stasis-filled dome.

"Yugo" he said "remember."

"You are unwise to lower your defences" the technomage rumbled.

Purple bolt came out of his hand.

Thunder stroke.

The stasis bolt disappeared, sucked out of reality through a crack that opened over their heads.

* * *

Elely's elbow hit something hard and she saw darkness. She blinked. Then turned on her back.

"We did it!" her father yelled, somewhere nearby. "Ha!"

The iop sat up on something cold and hard, fluttering her eyelashes.

On reflex she reached for her sword, which wasn't there.

"Shushu take it" she growled.

"Elely" Dally started, but trailed off.

In front of them, hands white from clenching on the armrests of her throne, sat Echo her own awful self, accompanied by Yugo, unreadable in this brass armour of his.

Around them stood eleven columns of light, like hours on Xelor's clock. One space was empty.

"We are free" the closest column said in a leafy whisper.

"We are free" said another in a crash of waves "to take our revenge.'

Echo stood up proud, but before she said anything, foggernaut's brass knees clanged on the floor.

"Our brother worked for years to free us from your prison" said another light in a swish of an arrow.

Yugo groaned.

Wind blew, billowed in Echo's dress, tousled Elely's hair.

"It's over, Echo!" called Percidal.

The iop girl, fighting the wind that tried to topple her, almost didn't hear the glass-sharp voice.

"I had years to turn your little world on its head! Years without your silly superstition!" Echo screamed.

Through her tears and red fringe Elely saw a slim black shade in the middle of the circle of lights, and a brass figure of a foggernaut towering over it.

"Do something!" yelled Echo.

"You lied to me" the technomage accused.

"Didn't you get anything out of it?"

A blue circle opened underneath them. Echo's scream faded in the wind. Silence fell.

* * *

At the last moment Amalia dodged technomage's metal arm that swished over her head. "Take that!"

The armour fell with a clack and the sadida brought forth another bramble, just in case. But the foggernaut didn't move. There were foggernauts all around, and none of them moved.

"Ami?"

"Eva?"

The cra walked to her, bow ready to fire. She tapped at the felled technomage with her boot.

"I think we won."

* * *

Obviously, the best way to find Evangelyne was by the sounds of the party the Pandawas spontaneously started. She sat by the fire, a full mug of bamboo milk on the ground by her side, watching her sadidan friend whirl and dance among the black and white crowd.

Elely and Sparrow held Flopin back, letting Percidal ahead. He stumbled towards the fire like a sleepwalker.

The cra looked up.

She jumped to her feet.

The iop embraced her.

Elely looked over her shoulder, at the dark forest and Goultard, who stood behind. She smiled, and he smiled back. Up above the stars were twinkling like merry little sparks.

 _From the author:_

 _Thus concludes this silly story._

 _It has taught me a thing or two, for example that it's good for one's sanity to write such nonsense (this last part was written along my diploma) (which is why it's so bad, partly) (but I decided to post it anyway, since there won't be any other closure to this thing)._

 _So, since I have no more plans for starwarsifying Wakfu (and is one of you does, especially the Attack of the Clones with Amalia as Padme, cause this has to be done! I'll come and comment, maybe fav) another strange crossover is in the making. You'll see it when it's ready (don't hold your breath), and I promise to try and make it less stupid._

 _Onwards and upwards!_


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